I just finished reading a biography of Aaron Burr (Fallen Founder, by Nancy Isenberg, Viking, 2007) that added more than a dozen words to my unused blog words list. I enjoyed reading it, as it gives an alternative perspective on accepted wisdom regarding Burr, Jefferson, and Hamilton. And if you think this election is sinking to new lows, you don’t know your American history. Let’s get to the words, though. This is a blog on words, not books.
The word I encountered in the book was the adjective urbane (used in its noun form – urbanity). It is a good word to describe the person who is suave , elegant, and sophisticated. It came to English in the 1530s from the Middle French word urbain. Urbain came from the Latin urbanus, meaning “belonging to a city” and also had a sense of elegance. Urbane does not have the negative connotation that “citified” has that is in vernacular today (at least in rural areas). Urbane only referred to the city’s qualities, not attending to individuals and their qualities until the 1620s. Now it rarely refers to city qualities and almost exclusively to individuals.
I also find it interesting that urbane came to English 80 years before urban did, though urban is more directly related to its Latin root word meaning. (It still means having to do with city life.) But urban was rarely used until the 1830s by which time urbane was developing its predominant meaning of refined and elegant.
Etymonline.com (the source of most of my etymological information) suggests that in the late 20th century the word urban has taken on a “suggestion of African American.” While the phrase “urban renewal” has been used since 1955 to refer to clearing of slums, I maintain that neither urban renewal nor urban sprawl nor urban legend has much African American connotation. (For my claim to urban legend status, see pudding on the ritz.)
Also interesting (at least to me) is the connection urbane has with humane and germane. Obviously their fairly rare ending (there are only 145 English words ending in –ane) is one commonality, as are their different meanings with the addition of a final e and their sense of belonging to a group. Germane came to English first, in the mid-1300s, then humane a century later.
Germane means closely related, relevant and pertinent. It originally meant having the same parents, until Shakespeare expanded its meaning beyond human parentage in Hamlet (Act V, Scene II). You remember the line (don’t you?) “The phrase would bee more Germaine to the matter: If we would carry Cannon by our sides.” We use germane to refer to closely related ideas rather than objects as Shakespeare did.
The word germane comes from a word I can’t remember encountering: german (small g). German means having the same father and mother or grandfather and grandmother. What a difference an e makes. The word german came from the Old French word germain, and they got germain from the Latin word germanus. The meaning has been consistent though the languages.
We readily see the connection of humane with human, especially in its antonym inhuman, which is almost synonymous with inhumane. Human means having the nature of people, while humane means tender and compassionate toward people and animals. But human and humane were used almost interchangeably until the early 1700s. In fact, the Royal Humane Society was formed in 1774 not to rescue animals, but to rescue drowning humans. It wasn’t for another 100 years that they turned their attention (and the meaning of humane) to rescuing animals.
Both human and humane came to English from the Old French word humain, which the Old French got from the Latin humanus, both of which mean belonging to or of mankind. Humanus also had the meaning we give to humane, so it is no wonder the two words formed.
So, you may be an urban german human, but that doesn’t mean you’re an urbane humane person. If such a statement is even germane.
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