A couple of
weeks ago (I took last week off for the holidays) I covered the etymology and
various meanings of present. Today we
look to the future (as have many this week).
Future has
to do with a time yet to come. It came into use in English in the late 14th
century as an adjective, from the Old French word future that came from the Latin word futurus. As a noun, the future is modeled after the Latin future, which is the neuter plural of futurus. Pretty clear and plain.
In 1842
theologians began using the word futurist to describe a particular perspective
on the “end times”, or the fulfillment of prophecies found in the Biblical books
of The Revelation and Daniel, as well as other portions of scripture. (In case
you’re wondering, Wikipedia says “futurist beliefs usually have a close
association with Premillenialism and Dispensationalism.” That should clear it
up for you.
Then in the
1880s speculators started using the word “futures” to describe the selling of
goods on agreement for future delivery. There is now a burgeoning market in
futures in everything from soybeans and pork bellies to molybdenum and crude
oil. In case you missed it, crude oil futures for delivery in February closed on
Friday at their lowest level since April 2009.
The form of
future known as futurism came into use in 1909, derived from the Itailian word futurismo, and coined by Italian poet
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Another form
of the word future came into use in 1915 as a synonym for avant garde:
futuristic. It was not until 1958 that the word futuristic meant “pertaining to
the future” according to etymonline.com.
I used the
word burgeoning above. It means to grow either quickly or in great quantity, or
to begin to grow. As with the word future, burgeon also arrived in the 1300s,
but early in that century. It came to English from the Anglo-French word burjuner, which is related to the Old
French word for budding or sprouting borjoner,
that came from the word borjon
meaning a bud, shoot, or pimple. In Modern French there is a a word bourgeon, but its etymology is less certain.
Sometimes a
word search in etymonline.com produces some interesting selections. The search
for burgeon also produced the etymology for orgasm. Keep reading to find out
why. In the 1680s the word orgasm began to be used in English as a noun for
sexual climax. It came to English from the French word orgasme (or possibly from the Latin word orgasmus, which the Latins got from the Greek orgasmos that means excitement or swelling, from the Greek word organ that means “to be in heat, or
become ripe for” or literally “to swell or be excited.” Sound familiary?
Anyway, the Greek word organ is
related to the word orge, which comes
from the “PIE (Proto-Indo-European) root *wrog-
‘to burgeon, well with strength.’” (etymonline.com)
One final
note on orgasm. In the 1600s the word was used of other violent excitements of
emotions or bodily functions. Now we would use the word orgy in the same sense
(e.g., “an orgy of violence.”)
I don’t
know what the future holds for you. I hope you have burgeoning good fortune and
an orgasm of…whatever causes you excitement.
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