Question: My local news station breaks up its show into several sections all containing the suffix "-cast": "weathercast," "sportscast," and my favorite, "healthcast." Did all these words come from the word "broadcast"? And where did "broadcast" come from?
- R.D., Boston, Mass.
Answer: The original meaning of "broadcast" is "cast or scattered in all directions," an adjective describing a method of sowing seeds. This agricultural sense first appeared in 1767. The verb "broadcast," meaning "to scatter or sow (as seed) over a broad area," appeared in 1813. A figurative use of the verb in the sense "to make widely known" appeared shortly thereafter in 1829. The most recent senses of "broadcast" dealing with radio and television developed in the 1920s and are a natural extension of its earlier uses.
All of the words you mention are derived from "broadcast" with the exception of the first. The word "weathercast," believe it or not, goes all the way back to 1866. It seems to have been formed originally from the "-cast" of "forecast" rather than "broadcast," as "forecast" has been applied to the weather at least since the 18th century.
Question: Does "gorp," the name for the hiking snack, stand for "good old raisins and peanuts"? If not, where did it come from? (Maybe it's related to "glop," which we also eat sometimes when we're backpacking!)
- V. H., Montpelier, Vt.
Answer: While gorp usually does indeed contain raisins and peanuts (and sometimes chocolate candies, coconuts, and other dried fruits and nuts as well), it's not certain that the word actually stands for "good old raisins and peanuts." This is a popular theory, but there's no proof for it. Another origin that's sometimes given is that "gorp" is related to a slang verb "gorp," meaning "to eat greedily." Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, this verb exists only in some dictionaries and has never actually been used. And while there might be other similarities, we don't see any evidence for a semantic relationship between "gorp" and "glop."
"Gorp" is a relatively new term - the earliest evidence we've found in print dates from 1968. It was probably an unrecorded part of backpacker's lingo for some time before that, though, so its origins will most likely remain obscure unless new evidence comes to light.
Question: I have a friend who is known for pulling obscure rules of English out of her hat. The other day we were having lunch in a nice restaurant and an item on the menu was described as being "very unique." My friend said that was "ridiculous." She said something is either unique or it isn't, and that it can't be "very unique" or "somewhat unique." Is there any basis for her argument, that you know of, or does she just make these things up?
- T. F., Kansas City, Mo.
Answer: Your friend didn't make this up. Many people believe, as she does, that "unique" is what is called an "absolute adjective" - one that can't be modified by adverbs of degree, such as "more," "most," "somewhat," and "very."
The reason for this is that when "unique" first entered English from French it had only two senses: "being the only one; sole" and "having no equal." With either of these two sense, your friend is correct. It is impossible for something to be "somewhat sole" or "very unequaled."
But as the word "unique" gained popularity in English its use broadened to include two new senses: "distinctively characteristic" and "unusual." Since it is possible for something to be "especially distinctive" or "most unusual," the use of adverbs of degree with these later two senses of "unique" is extremely common.