RAT Word of the Day (was "The Director and the Community")

[nick <nick@ratconference.com>]

At 02:37 AM 3/29/01 EST, Thsimple@aol.com wrote:
>
>scribble!
>

WORD HISTORY  It is not easy to think simultaneously of the carefully
crafted writings of a trained scribe and the hastily scrawled jottings
referred to by the word scribble, but the two words are related. Scribe
goes back to the Latin _scriba_ meaning "one who has charge of things such
as public records or accounts," _scriba_ in turn, coming from _scribere_
"to write."  The Latin word was borrowed into English directly as well as
by way of Old French (scribe), giving us Middle English scribe, first
recorded in a work written probably around 1200. People do not always write
with great care, especially when pressed for time, as is shown by an early
use of the verb scribble in a Middle English text: "Scribled in hast with
mine owne hand in default of other helpe."  Hence it is easy to see why the
verb scribble came into existence. From Latin _scrbere_ English had formed
its own verb _scriben_ "to write," and probably from this verb with the
addition of the suffix -el, denoting diminutive, repetitive, or intensive
actions, came the Middle English word _scriblen_ (first recorded around
1456), the ancestor of our word scribble.

But I like the synonym scrabble in its modern meaning with the shaded
connotation from the trademarked board game.  

"The huge scrabble of directors finally arrived at the renowned RAT
Conference.  Little did they realize that the Thieves Theatre performance
they had witnessed midway in their two hour bus trip from New York to
Philadelphia at the Molly Pitcher Service Area between interchanges 8A  and
8 of the New Jersey Turnpike was just the beginning of their adventure.  By
days end their concepts about both the nature and uses of theater and
turnpike rest stops had been indelibly altered. " 

--nick



---------------------------------------
To [un]subscribe to the rat-list, send an email to "majordomo@ratconference.com"
with [un]subscribe rat-list" in the body of the message.
For information on other functions send a message containing the word
"help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.
---------------------------------------
You may also [un]subscribe on the web at http://www.ratconference.com/cgi-bin/web_domo.pl?list=rat-list