[Ads-l] Antedating of "Soul" (African-American)

[Shapiro, Fred]

When I previously antedated "soul food" I was not able to find any citations earlier than 1960, excepting nonliteral uses in an unrelated religious context.

Fred Shapiro

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2025 11:55 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Soul" (African-American)

Any antedating of "soul food" (OED, 2. "Originally U.S.: Food prepared in a
style originating in the rural southern United States and traditionally
associated with African Americans") prior to 1960?

On Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 11:38 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
wrote:

> soul (OED, 3.c. "the emotional or spiritual quality of African American
> life and culture," 1946)
>
> 1939 Sunday Worker 5 Mar. 2/3 (ProQuest)  Whether it's "St. Louis Blues,"
> or "Jeepers Creepers," the audience wants it played correctly, with soul
> and with meaning.
>
> 1941 Hartford Courant 1 Nov. 8 (ProQuest)  "Jackson T." — Jack Teaguarden
> to you — is at the State Theater showing you how they play jazz down
> N'Ohleans way — with soul.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
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