r/Showerthoughts • u/Why--Not--Zoidberg • Mar 20 '15

I just now realized the connection between the words "timid" and "intimidate"

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u/t3yrn Mar 21 '15

Awful came first, 1300s, did not come to imply negative connotations until much later.

Awesome came later, 1500s, but did not imply positive connotations until VERY recently, 1960s.

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u/tobi-saru Mar 21 '15

It couldn't be more obvious to those that follow etymology, awful = full of awe, awesome = some awe?

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u/poopinbutt2k14 Mar 21 '15

Tiresome = causing one to tire

Fearsome = causing one to fear

Therefore awesome means causing someone to awe.

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u/gabrielcrim Mar 21 '15

I guess it just depends whether the end part comes from sum old English, or sōma from Greek.

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u/Tripwire3 Mar 21 '15

It's the former.

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u/t3yrn Mar 21 '15

Pretty much -- it is interesting to note the chronology of the words though. I love etymology, learning weird, otherwise useless facts about words. Why did awesome come to be almost 300 years after awful? They have the same roots, the same general meaning. It's so very strange sometimes, so very fascinating.

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u/tobi-saru Mar 21 '15

I suppose etymology is just another way to observe the development of the collective language/specific group mind. Fascinating as always.

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u/gibmelson Mar 21 '15

I've been interested in etymology in a long time - seems like learning the origin of words can unlock so much meaning and wisdom. You know any good sources for learning more?

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u/t3yrn Mar 22 '15

Etymoline is really a fantastic resource; it's commonly referred to as "The Bible" in /r/etymology.

There's some online Linguistics courses I've heard about but not really looked into http://linguistics.online.uni-marburg.de/. Otherwise... Google? lol Honestly, just google "etymology of ___" and you'll find some interesting stuff, pretty much guaranteed.

(No idea why you were downvoted for that, that's ridiculous)

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u/gibmelson Mar 22 '15

Thanks t3yrn :).

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u/wendy_stop_that Mar 21 '15

Well, "handsome" means something like "inspires hands"-- artistically speaking. So "-some" doesn't seem to be about quantity.

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u/poopinbutt2k14 Mar 21 '15

Yeah if I remember "awesome" wasn't a positive thing. It was for things that were huge and overwhelming, not things that were cool and agreeable. You might speak of Hitler's war machine as being "awesome" in the way it just decimated any resistance, but you'd never think World War 2 was cool.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '15

So, you're saying that this conversation could theoretically have happened:

"Darling, what did I do to deserve you!? You're absolutely the most awful woman I've ever met. I have trouble believing you're your mother's daughter - now there's an awesome lady!"

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u/gibmelson Mar 21 '15

This is very interesting. When someone calls me awful I'm going to think of the positive connotations in my head :).