Chrysti The Wordsmith: Auto-Antonyms - 2

Greetings I'm Christie the wordsmith. Think of them as two faced words words that have their meaning and an opposite meaning all in the same arrangement of letters. They're called auto antonyms terms that can be used in a seemingly contradictory way. Last time on this series we explored the auto antonym fast which can mean both speedy as in a fast car and static as in stuck fast. Today we'll look at the curiously contradictory verb bolt which can mean to lock and secure and to start suddenly and run away. When we look into the history of the verb bolt we can see how it's become its own antonym. In the old English language a bolt was a short stout crossbow arrow. In the 14 hundreds a metal fastening pin shaped as it was like a crossbow arrow also became known as a bolt and to bolt away comes from the notion of firing a projectile specifically an arrow. English contains a small but interesting assemblage of audio antonyms sanction means both to

prohibit and to allow a fix is either a solution or problem. As in we were in a desperate fix. These words are also called Janice words. Janice is the Roman god of doorways who is depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. Just like the two faced auto antonyms fast and sanction. I'm Christie the wordsmith to Dave or before 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.