How Happy Became Homosexual by Howard Richler

Author:Howard Richler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ronsdale Press
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

In the following chapters we will look at some words that began their lives in particular fields before transcending their restricted parameters. First, we will look at words whose senses were originally in the domain of religion.

CHAPTER 6

Religion:

Oh My God!

I BELIEVE NO ONE WOULD question that, in days gone by, when most folks were God-fearing and hell-aversive, religion played a large role in the lives of individuals. As such, it is not surprising that many words derive from a religious context. It was perhaps not more than a century ago when the most common euphemisms in the English language were religious ones, and ordinary souls substituted “zounds” for “by God’s wounds”; “gadzooks” for “God’s hooks”; and “doggone” for “goddamn.” Many people still use “tarnation” for “damnation.” Surprisingly enough, even the euphemism “gosh” is a mincing pronunciation of “God.”

Over time, many words that were originally based in religion have lost any hint of their theological roots in our ever more secular society. Some are fairly obvious, such as the secularizing of “crusade” and “advent” well beyond their Christian origins. Others, however, might surprise you. For example, a “parlour” originally referred to an apartment in a monastery or convent in which residents could talk amongst themselves or with people from outside the establishment. Similarly, “cell” originally referred to the chamber of a religious recluse. “Sanction” was an ecclesiastical decree. “Propaganda” designated a committee of Roman Catholic cardinals. “Patter” meant to recite a prayer in a mechanical fashion. In the 14th century, the word “hierarchy” referred to three divisions of angels, but by the 16th century it referred to a division in ecclesiastical concerns, and it became secularized only in the 17th century. Even “visit” and “celebrity” were highly religious; the former referred to a visitation by God to bring comfort, and the latter to a solemn rite. Here are some other words that we have secularized.

Bead

The original meaning of “bead” is “prayer” or “devotions,” a sense that is found in English before the 10th century. Because these beads or prayers were kept on what nowadays is called a rosary, a string of small balls, the word “bede” (later “bead”) came to be applied to the balls themselves. In Middle English, a beadsman referred to someone who prayed for people’s souls. In the early 15th century we see the word recorded to refer to a small perforated round object made of materials such as amber, glass and wood, used as an ornament, strung in a series to form a necklace or bracelet. By the end of the 16th century, “bead” could refer to less poetic round objects such as a “bead of sweat.” In fact, Shakespeare uses it as such in Henry IV, Part One, when he speaks of how “Beds of sweat haue stood vpon thy brow.”

Charisma

If you believe “charisma” is a God-given attribute, you recognize the word’s first meaning, found in the 17th century: “A free gift or favour specially vouchsafed by God; a grace, a talent.” It was first used

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