[Ads-l] Antedating of "paranormal"

Thu Oct 8 16:00:58 UTC 2015

Originally the dating of Appeals requests was based on the current version in OED Online, regardless of what additional evidence was easily findable or even already known to OED editors. I gather this is still the case. 

Jesse Sheidlower

On Thu, Oct 08, 2015 at 03:22:39PM +0000, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> It is strange that the OED didn't already know about the 1905 dating, since this information is readily findable in Google Books and Hathi Trust and there was a note in Notes and Queries earlier this year that contained the information.
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Hugo [hugovk at GMAIL.COM]
> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2015 7:12 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Antedating of "paranormal"
> 
> The OED's looking for examples before 1920.
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__public.oed.com_appeals_paranormal_&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=O7zJ_Nn9SdnpcrT1ZmWVKEUPxXPlfRa0Ch-vOLYSD0c&e=
> 
> 
> Here's a January 1905 in Notes by Dr. Maxwell, Bordeaux, published in
> The Annals of Psychical Science ( Vol. 1, January-June 1905, page 60):
> 
> [Begin]
> Now, that which gives a paranormal character to this
> hallucination is the fact that M. U. and Mme. R. died a
> ~hort time afterwards. Mme. R. died suddenly on the 2nd
> August, from an embolism. M. U. died on the 16th
> September, from an attack of apoplexy. At the time the
> apparition was seen, both Mme. R. and M. U. were in
> excellent health, therefore Mlle. C. could not have been
> preoccupied on their account.
> [End]
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.iapsop.com_archive_materials_annals-5Fof-5Fpsychical-5Fscience_annals-5Fof-5Fpsychical-5Fscience-5Fv1-5Fjanuary-5Fjune-5F1905.pdf&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=Xy8qnOw-a4W1pUYIXQEDeDWu4XULEyC7Vvm9qn6mI0w&e=
> 
> Here's Dr. Joseph Maxwell again in his book Metapsychical Phenomena
> from 1905. He uses the word at least two dozen times. This may be the
> first, on page 98:
> 
> [Begin]
> Once again, I cannot too strongly warn experimenters
> against dark seances : they are absolutely worthless when
> paranormal phenomena are required. These ought to be
> obtained in full light ; under such conditions the levita-
> tion of the table is a verifiable phenomenon.
> [End]
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__archive.org_stream_metapsychicalph00richgoog-23page_n128_mode_2up&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=J26QCl14NUoZ231ntJZGkmFFOLZVdOuTt4fB0gcEQzc&e=
> 
> Later, on page 376:
> 
> [Begin]
> The first, which are apparently contrary to the ordinary
> data of experience, are paranormal phenomena, that is to
> say, outside the usual rule ; the second, on the contrary,
> are normal. Parakinesis is a paranormal movement with
> contact ; telekinesis is a paranormal movement without
> contact.
> [End]
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__archive.org_stream_metapsychicalph00richgoog-23page_n406_mode_2up&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=ukA11WWjqdY72aKUjtN9diOCGDM31KBnnY0CUuMLSJ0&e=
> 
> The title page says Maxwell was Deputy-Attorney-General at the Court
> of Appeal, Bordeaux, France, and gives the translator's name as L.I.
> Finch.
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__archive.org_details_metapsychicalph00richgoog&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=vgv9zLL00szA6D1hLXjYCYhi-PKPjbPo9_qT01HXGlc&e=
> 
> It's interesting that this book was in French first, as the OED's
> current etymology notes to "Compare French paranormal (1920)". And
> Maxwell's original book contains a French antedating too.
> 
> An essay on Maxwell says after many years he first published his
> research in 1903 in Les phénomènes psychiques: recherches,
> observations, méthodes (Paris: Alcan). Here's several examples of the
> word in the 1903 book.
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__gallica.bnf.fr_ark-3A_12148_bpt6k5686599c_f325.item.r-3Dparanormal&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=sRkhHMQo6W5Ird1lkQFqb23bCfSHAR2XjUSUG53db5M&m=YXgiJ_rgVpPqg1J9GczeLLSc-FvFgNDlSOBE7U5AN3M&s=Bsx4FH32kJ1cs1-2tvYs2EjKnO3qEWb2hocrNP4Rvl0&e=
> 
> Hugo
> 
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