I have another longer post brewing, but I thought I'd pop in a short one about a word I have read in many places over my lifetime, but which I don't really know. "The desuetudes of" something is a phrase I probably invent a new meaning for each time I run across it. Out of context, it's a little hard to pick apart. For some reason, maybe the association with the word lassitude, I think of laxness, but its a bit hard to get that "suet" out of my mind. The doldrums?
Never mind. Let's forge ahead.
***
Ever heard of the word "mansuetude"? No, me either. Mansuetude means "tameness, gentleness or mildness" It comes from the Latin manus, or hand plus suescere--to accustom or habituate. To accustom to the hand--ie, tame.
Desuescere, in contrast, would mean, to become not accustomed to--to fall out of use or practice.
Desuetude is the condition of being out of use or practice, a state of disuse or inactivity.
So we have the desuetude of manual typewriters, old docks, mothball fleets, and so on. It is a doctrine in law as well. In some places and some cases, after a long period of desuetude, statutes and ordinances may become unenforceable. There are a lot of things on the books that not only will not be enforced but cannot be enforced, as practice has been otherwise for so long. Things are not always struck from the books when common practice has moved past them. Many small communities, for example, have zoning laws still on the books that are frankly racist in character, but are not observed in practice and will never be resuscitated. Although, geez, repealing them might be a nice gesture...
Although why you would name a racehorse Desuetude is a bit beyond me.
Never mind. Let's forge ahead.
***
Ever heard of the word "mansuetude"? No, me either. Mansuetude means "tameness, gentleness or mildness" It comes from the Latin manus, or hand plus suescere--to accustom or habituate. To accustom to the hand--ie, tame.
 |
| Timothy Treadwell petting a wild fox |
Desuescere, in contrast, would mean, to become not accustomed to--to fall out of use or practice.
Desuetude is the condition of being out of use or practice, a state of disuse or inactivity.
So we have the desuetude of manual typewriters, old docks, mothball fleets, and so on. It is a doctrine in law as well. In some places and some cases, after a long period of desuetude, statutes and ordinances may become unenforceable. There are a lot of things on the books that not only will not be enforced but cannot be enforced, as practice has been otherwise for so long. Things are not always struck from the books when common practice has moved past them. Many small communities, for example, have zoning laws still on the books that are frankly racist in character, but are not observed in practice and will never be resuscitated. Although, geez, repealing them might be a nice gesture...
 |
| Desuetude-apparently also a horse. |
.jpg)
Posts
Thanks for exploring this word, which I have also stumbled over, like an out-of-practice steeplechaser.
ReplyDeleteNice one, Kathleen!
ReplyDeleteThe word has nothing to do with suet, I suppose, though somehow I wish it did.
ReplyDeleteI do too, though suet as such is foreign enough to me to need another post.
ReplyDeleteI always liked suet as an insult in humorous books, as in, "Confronted with the accusation, his face turned the color of cold suet."
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I get the general intent, but I can't exactly picture the image. Is it different from hot suet?
DeleteWow..love this word...another ive come across in my travels that ive skipped over and thought 'oh its prolly something to do with suede boots' hehe...great stuff and go0d research
ReplyDeleteDan, I wonder how ereaders will change this kind of general slackness that pre-millennium reader allowed themselves. I think on most ereaders, you just click on the word and it defines it right then and there.
DeleteBut if I had to bet, I'd place it on the probability that human laziness will prevail here just as much as it does anywhere and everywhere else.
Especially since e-readers' built-in dictionaries seem not to extend to really difficult words.
ReplyDeleteDoes "His face turned the color of cold fat" conjure a more vivid image?
I'm just back to share these word-based articles with you, about hard-to-translate words:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2008/10/12/ten-most-difficult-words-to-translate/
http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/05/01/5-more-difficult-words-to-translate/
I was familiar with all 5 in the second article and delighted to learn of the 10 in the first. I can't repeat/remember the actual words, but I can relate to their meanings!
Excellent concepts to think about, Kathleen! I'll post them in the form of clickable links HERE and HERE.
ReplyDeleteAnd not that it matters here, but you've given me a new idea for a post for my Finnegans Wake blog.