In keeping with fine soap opera tradition, our last episode of Blogenders dangled a tantalising cliff-hanger – which of 4 options to be pursued in the seemingly prescient event of cup final heartache? You were, I confess, the victims of plot twist manipulation, for the answer was of course Option 5: Seek refuge in word books. I know, it’s obvious in hindsight, but that’s the way of deliberate misdirection.
To survive the dying embers of Sunday’s light, it was necessary to consult Skeat’s 1882 First Edition “An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language” and it is from this that we take today’s reading. It begins, aptly enough, with enduring agony.
Pathos, Passion, Patient (in hospital) and Patient (waiting serenely); these are all descendants of the early Greek word meaning ‘to suffer’. This sense of a communal root pervades across the linguistic landscape. Disappoint, disgrace, disaster (you can sense my mood) – each of these is prefixed by the Latin ‘dis-‘ meaning ‘a privative, negative or reversing force; a lack or deprivation’. Thus our word list may literally mean ‘lacking fulfilment of hopes or expectations’, ‘the reversal of grace' and, somewhat understatedly, ‘negative to one’s stars’. Don’t say you never learn anything on this site.
The notion of core, shared elements occurs repeatedly across our social and creative experiences, providing the foundation for a world of possibility. In cooking, flavourings from Puttanesca to Salsa, Louisiana Creole to Marinara, all utilise the basic ingredients of tomato sauce; Likewise, a 12 semi-tone octave, a key signature and a tempo underpin every melodic composition from Shostakovich’s Second Waltz to the Pussycat Doll’s ‘Don’t Cha’.
These are the building blocks which establish every innovative undertaking. You, of course, have your own, composed of your morals, values, skills, motivations, physical and mental abilities.
It is your own core elements that are the roots of any success, both that already achieved and that yet to come. They are thus worthy of a little consideration but I cannot tell you what yours are. It may be that you are favoured with a head for numbers, a clear sense of right and wrong, steely determination, a good throwing arm, fearlessness, fortitude, a flair for languages, a killer cross-stitch, navigational nous, perspicacity, a willingness to perspire, or a million other possibilities.
Whatever they are, it is important to acknowledge your essential blessings, to know that they exist in you and that combined they can be used for positive endeavour. Brought together, they may help you construct a way of both being in and comprehending the world.
Allow me to demonstrate. We know already that the prefix ‘dis-‘ can mean ‘a deprivation’. Add the Latin ‘Cerebrum’ (brain) and the suffix ‘-escent’ (becoming, resembling, to be somewhat), et voila, a whole new word: Discerebrescent, meaning ‘somwhat deprived of a brain’, as in ‘During the final minutes, Arsenal’s defenders were collectively discerebrescent’. See, it makes sense now.
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