Versatility?

[Angus B. Grieve-Smith]

On 3/20/2011 11:10 PM, A. Katz wrote:
> Angus,
>
> This is a plausible explanation for this particular example, but I'm 
> not entirely convinced. When I tested rural Missourians, they seemed 
> to have as much trouble as urban dwellers-- even when they had real 
> life experiences with roosters.

     It would not be enough for them to have real life experiences with 
roosters, they would need to have experience with roost/ing/ at a 
frequency in at least the same general range.  Once the derived term is 
in common use, the conditions of derivation never need to apply again.

     It makes me wonder if the derivation is transparent to birdwatchers 
and ornithologists.

-- 
				-Angus B. Grieve-Smith
				grvsmth at panix.com