[Ads-l] Nominations for 2014 Word of the Year

[Ben Zimmer]

On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 7:25 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> A couple of thoughts --
>
> even (v.) -- from "to even out"?  If so, the definition doesn't
> include the sense of "to level" (make even).

As the accompanying gloss explains, it is derived from "I can't even"
-- this sense has nothing to do with the older verb sense. For further
explanation, see this piece (which also discusses the similar use of
"can" as a verb):

http://the-toast.net/2013/11/20/yes-you-can-even/

--bgz

-- 
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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