[Ads-l] Obsolete term: "gas pedal" in an electric car =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=93_?=alternatives "potentiometer" or "accelerator"

[Mark Mandel]

Indeed. Good analysis, Garson.

Mark

On Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 9:11 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Mark Mandel (MAM) wrote:
> > Well, we still call the panel in front of the driver a "dashboard", even
> > though it no longer is
> >
> >  A panel at the front of a horse-drawn vehicle that projects up to
> protect
> > the riders from mud, water, or snow kicked up by the horse or horses.
> >
> > https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=dashboard
>
> Excellent example and good point, MAM. Here is another example, I think.
>
> The word "pen" is still in use, and it is even used for an electronic
> stylus. Yet, the Online Etymology Dictionary says "pen" is derived
> from: late 13c., from Old French pene "quill pen; feather" (12c.) and
> directly from Latin penna "a feather, plume," …
> https://www.etymonline.com/word/pen
>
> Perhaps the etymologies of "pen" and "dashboard" became sufficiently
> opaque that their semantics shifted without major resistance. I
> suspect that the meaning of "gas" in "gas pedal" is  still relatively
> transparent. Hence, it will be more difficult for the semantics to
> shift to include the accelerator pedal of an electric car.
>
> Garson
>
>
>

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