Griceianism: weak or strong?
Lionpainter writes:
"Thank you all or y'all so much for welcoming me and I am pleased that you
spent
the time to write in response to my communique/Griceian foibles."
You're welcome! And thank you for a lovely post.
And surely a parti poodle invites all the right implicatures! (As Geary
once told me, "'parti' here is a noun and we can safely say that the noun
parti itself occurs in the sense "parti-colored" from late 14c." I objected:
"Sense? Why should we multiply the senses of 'parti' beyond necessity?". I
distinctly remember his answer: "Whatever"
Only I would never call'em 'Griceian foibles' (loved the spellling
'Griceian'!) -- but strenghts!
Geary can comment if he can*.
And when I say comment, if he can I mean, alla, 'you mean 'foible' as in
[below] and you can't come with a better antonym than 'strong'? 'You can see
that a foible has nothing to 'strength', but all to do with Latin
"flebilis"'.
1640s, "weak point of a sword blade" (contrasted to forte), from French
foible "a weak point, a weakness, failing," from noun use of Old French
adjective feble "feeble" (see feeble). The spelling borrowed in English is
obsolete in modern French, which uses faible. Extended sense of "weak point of
character" is first recorded 1670s. Related: Foibles.
"But then," Geary would say, "there's feeble" -- "which MIGHT apply to a
Griceian -- or then might not."
feeble (adj.) late 12c., "lacking strength or vigor" (physical, moral, or
intellectual), from Old French feble "weak, feeble" (12c., Modern French
faible), dissimilated from Latin flebilis "lamentable," literally "that is to
be wept over," from flere "weep, cry, shed tears, lament," from PIE *bhle-
"to howl" (see bleat (v.)). The first -l- was lost in Old French. The noun
meaning "feeble person" is recorded from mid-14c.
Cheers,
Speranza
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