English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Conrado

14:11

Adolesce: to grow toward maturity. M-W

I had to check that just now; I thought that it meant "to lack, or have some insufficiency".

> Taylor and Brown[1332] argue that a theory of mental health defined in terms of contact with reality does not itself have contact with reality: “Rather, the mentally healthy person appears to have the enviable capacity to distort reality in a direction that enhances self-esteem, maintains beliefs in personal efficacy, and promotes an optimistic view of the future.”

From Jones, The New C Standard: an economic and cultural commentary

tchrist

@Conrado As opposed to numbing the dolorous doldrums? :)

Conrado

Well, Etymonline says it's

tchrist

The verb to adolesce in English is a *back formation derived from adolescent.

Conrado

> adolescere "grow up, come to maturity, ripen," from ad "to" (see ad-) + alescere "be nourished," hence, "increase, grow up" (inchoative of alere "to nourish," from a suffixed form of PIE root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish").

tchrist

The "normal" noun and past participle from L. adolēscere was adultus.

CowperKettle

14:25

Conrado

@tchrist Yes, I don't think I've ever heard it used in English, although I think I might have heard it in Spanish somewhere. At least, it feels more natural in Spanish to me. "Adolece de claustrofobia" (example from RAE)

tchrist

@Conrado It reminds me of the Spanglish loan/calque appetesce. :)

Conrado

Yes, they seem very remindable of each other.

Perhaps there should also be conocer and knowsce.

Or would it be gnosce?

Conosce?

tchrist

There's actually another -isc- derivation, which were originally inchoative verbs in Latin, by which I mean that they were of that particular aspect that meant just getting started: "Grammar. Of verbs: Denoting the beginning of an action; inceptive." The resulting -zco verbs in Spanish are no longer perceived that way, of course, nor is this a productive derivational strategy in modern Romance verbs.

That's the Etymology 2 version reading "From adoleō (“burn”) +‎ -scō." here, so "I start to burn":

adolesco

Verb: adolēscō (present infinitive adolēscere, perfect active adolēvī or adoluī, supine adultum); third conjugation, no passive

to grow up, become an adult, mature
to grow, increase, augment, become greater
Synonyms: accrēscō, crēscō, excrēscō, olēscō, glīscō
Antonym: dēcrēscō
adolēscō (present infinitive adolēscere); third conjugation, no passive, no perfect or supine stems
to be kindled or burn (of a sacrifice)

Reminds me of ardeo.

"To burn with ardent ardour." :)

Conrado

@tchrist Also, touché: I had to go see if appetesce is in M-W. It's not. Appetence and appetency are in related suggestions: "a fixed and strong desire".

tchrist

14:34

I don't know if there's an "ardor" form for that in the United States. It looks funny.

@Conrado It's just one of the weird words we used to use in a bilingual community I was once part of.

Conrado

Yes, the joke is on me here, because I am a recovering TCK.

tchrist

A Trans-Canadian Kook? :)

Conrado

I mean, I'm an adult now, but the T and C still apply.

Third culture kid

Third culture kids (TCK) or third culture individuals (TCI) are people who were raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of their country of nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years. They typically are exposed to a greater volume and variety of cultural influences than those who grow up in one particular cultural setting. The term applies to both adults and children, as the term kid refers to the individual's formative or developmental years. However, for clarification, sometimes the term adult third culture...

tchrist

ahah

Another of our weird words was asquerous. I'm sure you'll realize what that means, but few others would.

Conrado

haha. That's a new one for me, and I will be sure to say it some day to my sister, who appreciates (at times) this sort of thing.

tchrist

14:44

It certainly fallutes more highly than does its recent synonym grody, that's for sure.

False allusions between asco and acre notwithstanding.

Oh huh, acerbate is a verb for embitter!

acrid stuff

Robusto

@tchrist Too acerbic. Too redolent of ascorbic acid as well.

tchrist

And acervate is also a verb, albeit not one that means turning somebody into a moose, alas.

Robusto

@tchrist That means to withdraw during intercourse. ;-)

tchrist

heh

@Robusto Its earliest citations define it as meaning to muff up, so that checks.

Conrado

Exacerbate, then, should be to un-embitter, "to make sweet". However, it's just making things worse.

tchrist

14:49

That's because the ex- prefix, like the re- prefix, can also mean an intensifier of some action.

> Latin exacerbāt- participial stem of exacerbāre, < ex- intensive + acerbus harsh, bitter, grievous.

So it doesn't mean to make something acérrimo. :)

Or does it? :)

So much that is insane in our language we can blame on the Romans!

Robusto

#WhenTaken #332 (24.01.2025)

I scored 953/1000👑

1️⃣📍10.5 m - 🗓️5 yrs - 🥇195/200
2️⃣📍8.8 km - 🗓️4 yrs - 🥇196/200
3️⃣📍83.2 km - 🗓️11 yrs - 🥇178/200
4️⃣📍127 km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥇191/200
5️⃣📍37.2 km - 🗓️5 yrs - 🥇193/200

https://whentaken.com

Wordle 1,315 4/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Conrado

@tchrist Yes. You could, perhaps, leave out the "in our language" part and your statement would remain true. :)

cue "Something something... the width of a horse's rear end... space shuttle."

Whatevah.

Thanks for chatting, I need to leave for now. Cheers!

handan_toddler

cya

Robusto

15:11

Anyone know if smoke detectors wear out and need to be replaced. I've been getting chirps lately and I've replaced batteries, but the chirps are continuing.

Have I mentioned I hate smoke detectors? They always seem to decide they need their batteries replaced at 2:30 a.m. and then you check the batteries and they're still well into the green.

Oh, and we don't have any fires atm. None that I can see anyway.

handan_toddler

> it's likely a sign that it's nearing the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced, as smoke detectors do wear out over time and a consistent chirping sound often indicates the need for a new unit; check the manufacturer's recommended replacement date on the device to confirm.

Cerberus

15:34

@Robusto I have had ones that began to malfunction. The cause I knew not. So I had to replace them.

I agree that they shouldn't start complaining at night.

jlliagre

15:56

#WhenTaken #332 (24.01.2025)

I scored 882/1000🏆

1️⃣📍24.4 m - 🗓️1 yrs - 🥇199/200
2️⃣📍7.5 km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥇197/200
3️⃣📍1.4K km - 🗓️3 yrs - 🥈158/200
4️⃣📍297 km - 🗓️19 yrs - 🥈148/200
5️⃣📍607 km - 🗓️2 yrs - 🥇180/200

https://whentaken.com

Wordle 1,315 4/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Daily Octordle #1096
9️⃣6️⃣
8️⃣🔟
5️⃣🕚
4️⃣🕐
Score: 66

Daily Sequence Octordle #1096
2️⃣4️⃣
6️⃣7️⃣
8️⃣🔟
🕚🕛
Score: 60

Daily Extreme Octordle #1096
8️⃣6️⃣
5️⃣7️⃣
🕚9️⃣
4️⃣🔟
Score: 60

Robusto

@jlliagre Funny you didn't try Spoiler

jlliagre

16:14

@Robusto Spoiler

Robusto

@jlliagre Luckily I got the consonant in the right place first.

Connections
Puzzle #593
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Too lazy to try to finesse that one.

tchrist

@Conrado Romani ite domum!

Robusto

Daily Octordle #1096
5️⃣9️⃣
7️⃣6️⃣
4️⃣3️⃣
🕚🕐
Score: 58
Was going great till the last three. Still, not bad.

Daily Sequence Octordle #1096
4️⃣5️⃣
7️⃣🕚
🕛🕐
⓮⓯
Score: 81
Caught in a 4/5 stack again.

Cerberus

Connections
Puzzle #593
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I feel that purple is not good.

And Green is a bit weak as well.

Robusto

16:29

Daily Extreme Octordle #1096
5️⃣9️⃣
4️⃣🔟
🕚6️⃣
8️⃣7️⃣
Score: 60

Robusto

16:43

Strands #327
“Get smart”
🔵🔵🔵🔵
🟡🔵

MetaEd

Wordle 1,315 3/6

⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩
⬛🟩⬛🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

M.A.R.

19:15

@Conrado I'm not a TCK but I have no cultural identity and it bugs me.

GratefulDisciple

19:27

@M.A.R. I think I am a TCK and it took me sometime to build my cultural identity. Fortunately I don't think many of the challenges apply to me anymore now.

@Robusto I think most have a lifetime, so if it's been more than 10 years, you probably need to replace the whole thing. Newer ones have a sealed battery good for 10 years (such as this one).

Mitch

19:56

@Robusto I think smoke detectors hate us.

Dannyu NDos

20:09

What is the English onomatopoeia for a ricochet?

AI suggests it's "bounce", but I'm not convinced, so

Cerberus

This suggests that ricochet isn't English?

Dannyu NDos

No it doesn't, but that that isn't an onomatopoeia.

(Uhh, negative questions confuse me.)

Conrado

21:02

@M.A.R. In my case, my family moved from central Appalachia to the southern Andes when I was ten years old; it's not the biggest cultural leap in the world by any stretch, but enough that I've got a good taste of the complexities.

I'm mid-thirties now.

In general, I feel enriched by the exposure to other cultures, and it's usually worth the feelings of "rootlessness" that are part of my identity now.

But I think I understand your irritation.

Mitch

21:33

@DannyuNDos I'm sure Batman reruns from the 1960's have examples.

Also, AI (currently) is not reliable for most things.

I comment very often on ELU questions that mentions Urban Dictionary or Wikipedia, and I say "Hey, Urban Dictionary is not reliable, it is a playground for bored teenagers. And Wiktionary has a lot of good stuff but it is nowhere near as reliable as an actual dictionary (and a plagiarism machine, both in and out)."...

but...

in the back of my head I'm worried someone is going to say the same thing about ELU...

and I'm going to have to agree with them.

Burn everything to the ground.

Maybe cover Sven Yarg's answers with a wet asbestos blanket.

Lambie

@Cerberus It depends on what exactly is ricocheting. [mind the silent t] Does the sound of a ball bouncing have an onamatopeia?

jlliagre

@DannyuNDos I'd suggest: Zing Zing Zonk (three ricochets).

Mitch

22:00

@Conrado Did your parents go back and forth between Chile and US before you were born?

Also, separately, what do you neighbors in Chile think you 'are'? US/Chilean/not an issue at all?

Robusto

22:35

@GratefulDisciple Thanks.

@Mitch There can be no doubt of this.

Mitch

@Robusto I have friend all of whose fire alarms went off simultaneously a few summers ago because it was hot and I think the AC went out and something something and then they all went off. And he has really high ceilings and couldn't reach them and .. one thing after another... it was awful the blaring sound causing inner ear damage like a thousand screaming banshees right in your face and you have to go outside to breathe and even then...

I had to bring over my ladder. It was awful.

The dog was shaking like a leaf for hours during and afterwards.

Robusto

@Mitch Yeah, been there.

Mitch

22:51

@Robusto Like dementors (the embodiment of depression) and screamers (angry letters from your parents that scream at you).

CowperKettle

23:19

Kidney disease might lead to.. Parkinson's disease nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01866-2

> In male mice, we found that the kidney removes α-Syn from the blood, which is reduced in renal failure, causing α-Syn deposition in the kidney and subsequent spread into the brain.

MetaEd

Connections
Puzzle #593
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦

Strands #327
“Get smart”
🔵🔵🔵🔵
🟡🔵

GratefulDisciple

@Robusto What's trending is smoke detector that can give status to Google / Amazon home automation through Wifi, but I'm too cheap to use them, though it can alert you when you're away.

Araucaria - Him

23:39

@tchrist I can't quite process that NP at the moment, but it's a vey good question in general. When I get through my current overload of stuff and things, I'll come back and try and give have another go at analysing it ...

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…