[Ads-l] "vet" (n. 1848, v. 1875)

[Ben Zimmer]

Indeed, at least as far as AmE usage goes, as I say in the column.

On Thu, Feb 2, 2017 at 1:33 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> In my limited experience, the current sense of the verb has become
> increasingly common since ca1980. (I first heard it in 1981).
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Feb 2, 2017 at 12:36 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> My latest Wall Street Journal column is on "vetting," extreme or otherwise.
>>
>> https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-horse-racing-to-extreme-
>> vetting-1486048469
>>
>> As usual, you can sidestep the WSJ paywall by Googling for the
>> headline or following a social media link, like this one:
>>
>> https://twitter.com/bgzimmer/status/827205437443493890
>>
>> The OED2 entries for the noun and verb forms of "vet" have yet to be
>> updated, so here are a couple of antedatings.
>>
>> * "vet" n. = 'veterinary surgeon' (OED2 1862)
>>
>> Harry Hieover, _The Pocket and the Stud: Or, Practical Hints on the
>> Management of the Stable_, 1848, p. 4
>> Again comes the veterinary surgeon; and as of course came the cold, so
>> of course comes the vet.’s bill.
>> https://books.google.com/books?id=ELcCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4
>> (Other examples throughout, all with a period after "vet.")
>>
>> * "vet" v. = 'submit to examination by a veterinary surgeon' (OED2 1891)
>>
>> _Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser_ (Dublin, Ireland),
>> Mar. 26, 1875, p. 6, col. 4
>> Prince George is an honest wear-and-tear customer and with 10st 11lb
>> ought to take some doing; but he was slightly lame after his Rugby
>> performance, and returned to Dublin only to be "vetted."

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