What does Lady Gaga have to do with senility?

Okay, so I missed Wednesday. But I had a good excuse: my brothers were visiting and we celebrated my father’s 90th birthday. His superannuation (that’s an extra, it’s not part of today’s post – explanation and etymology of that word shouldn’t be necessary) deserved undistracted celebration, so I didn’t get to posting.

Speaking of superannuation, however, there are several words that come to mind that are worth giving attention related to age, and the path that we will wend is worth the wait.

Senescent, which is an adjective that means growing old, is an old word. First used in 1656, it comes from the Latin word scenescens, which is the present participle of senescere, which means to grow old.

The Latin word senescere came from the Latin word senex, which means “old”. The comparative form of senex is, in Latin, senior. Obviously, our word senior is a direct transfer and came to English in the late 13th century. At that time it had only one use, and it was one that it still retains. The word was adopted into English to differentiate between a father and son who had the same name. We still use it in that sense (e.g., Ken Griffey, Sr.). In about 1510 another meaning was given to the word, as it was adapted to also refer to someone who has a higher rank or longer service (the senior Senator from…) It wasn’t until 1741 that a fourth-year student was referred to as a “Senior”, although advanced students were given the designation as early as the 1610s. Not much changed with the definitions until 1938, when taxes and California (what’s new?) spawned serious discussion about providing support to older Californians and coined the phrase “Senior Citizen”.

Speaking of senior Senators, the word senate was the first word to come to English from senex. Around 1200 the word came to English from the Old French word senat, which was formed from the Latin word senatus, which meant “council of elders”. It was several centuries later, though, that it became attached to governmental bodies.

There’s one other English word that has come from senex, through French: senile. The French word senile was derived from the Latin senilis, which is the adjective form of senex. In 1661 it simply meant suited to old age. It wasn’t until 1848 that it gained any sense of infirmity or weakness related to aging. One more thought: the French word for senile (and foolish) is gaga. We have adapted the foolish meaning to mean crazy or silly (in 1905) and by now the added meaning of “wide-eyed” has attached itself to that word. What any of that has to do with Lady Gaga is for someone else to discern.

The root word senex has homophonic counterparts that mean “old” in many languages: in Sanskrit the word for old is sanah; in Lithuanian it is senas, in Old Irish sen, in Old Norse sina.

If you want to read more on the subject, including euphemisms for aging, I encourage you to read http://www.theseniortimes.com/richler.htm.