Chrysti The Wordsmith: Linguistic Fossils - 1

Greetings. I'm Christie Smith Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. Beck and call. By dint of kith and kin these familiar expressions have something very significant in common each phrase contains a linguistic fossil a word dead to the English language in any other context. Consider the back in back and call the dent in by dint of the Kiffin kith and kin when singled out. Each of these words seems homeless against the background of our familiar lexicon. What stories can we coax out of these linguistic oddities. The expression by dint of means by the force of someone might say for example by dint of diligent study I earned my degree in three years. DNT is the fossil remnants of an old English word referring to a stroke or blow given with a weapon in fighting the tenth and eleventh century English documents tell of the defense or clouts delivered by swords and pointed Spears. Chaucer in the thirteen hundreds used the word

in reference to a thunderclap when he wrote of a proud man slain by thunder didn't the expression by dint of began showing up in the sixteen hundreds independent of sword strokes and thunder claps. Yet still preserving the implication of the strength behind such blows. By dint of by the force of next time on Christie the wordsmith the story behind the beck and beck and call. Good day for the horse. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.