Is the T silent or not?
I’ve often wondered about this expression: to send someone to Coventry. It’s a little old-fashioned, so you may not have heard of it. It means to deliberately ostracise someone, by ignoring them, refusing to talk to them. The obvious question about this phrase is: why Coventry?
I was thinking about this word, and the related word grave, this morning. Like contract, it’s a curiously multi-purpose word.
If you start a new job, or agree to buy something, you might have to sign a contract.
The word contract was originally usually used to refer to marriage, and comes from the Latin com (with, together) and trahere (to draw). Which makes sense really: if you give marry someone, you’re agreeing to draw closer together, and if you sign a contract with a company, you’re agreeing to draw together with them.
Isn’t if funny though, when we use contract as a verb?
Reading about Anglish yesterday, I realised that one of the most useful methods for proponents of this form of English is creating calques.
What’s a calque, I hear you ask?
No, not English. Anglish.
A little earlier, I came across the following video:
English-Language Thoughts 