[Ads-l] "verse" redux

[Laurence Horn]

One update: since Mark Liberman’s 2012 Language Log post at the link below, the OED now includes an entry for this reanalyzed verb form, but only with an initial cite in 1984, three decades after that MW cite, so Ben’s 1936 legacy collection below represents a major antedating. (Hmmm... “antedating” sounds like a practice that would be generally frowned on even for Valentine’s Day.)

LH

> On Feb 10, 2025, at 11:32 AM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> We've previously discussed the use of "verse" as a transitive verb meaning
> "to compete against or oppose (a person or team)," a back-formation from
> "versus" reinterpreted as "verses." Nancy Friedman's newsletter today links
> to a 2012 Language Log post on the topic.
> 
> https://fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-the-week-aesthetics
> https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4029
> 
> As Arnold Zwicky mentions in a comment on the Language Log post, Charles
> Doyle has a note about the usage in the 1981 issue of American Speech.
> Also, Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary dates it to 1956, in an
> online entry for "verse" added in 2016. Here are examples going back to
> 1936.
> 
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-carmen-headlight-versed/165141769/
> Carmen (OK) Headlight, Dec. 17, 1936, p. 1, col. 1
> Ralph Partrick's team versed Chas. Cox's, Jr. team No. 2 with a score of 25
> to 4 in favor of Partrick.
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/effingham-republican-versed/165141884/
> Effingham (IL) Republican, Nov. 11, 1937, p. 3, col. 6
> Wednesday, November 3, Geneva Bolin's team versed Lucille Walker's team in
> an exciting game in which Geneva's team won with a score of 2-1.
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/la-grande-observer-versed/165141274/
> La Grande (OR) Observer, Dec. 24, 1941, p. 2, col. 1
> The Haines Girls' Volley Ball team versed the Powder Girls' Volley Ball
> team on the Powder floor Friday afternoon. Haines won with a score of 13 to
> 10.
> ---
> 
> --bgz
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org