Mind your “manors”
October 7th, 2008 at 07:00am Barry Wood
There was no activity on this blog last week, because I was dealing with clogging instead of blogging.
I went to the Rockford Memorial emergency room Monday, had a stent put into a major artery Tuesday and went home Wednesday, where I spent the rest of the week recuperating. So I had a lot of time to read — and find a wealth of material for this week.
One of the things I came across was “in a gentlemanly manor.” Homonyms again, although this one is most often encountered in the phrase “to the manor born.” In both cases, the correct word is “manner.”
A “manor” is a dwelling. It comes from the Latin “manere,” “to remain,” so a manor is a place to stay. Two other kinds of residence from the same source are “mansion” and “manse,” a parsonage.
“Manner,” on the other hand, comes from “hand” — that is, “manus,” Latin for “hand.” “Manner” is all about behavior, attitude, method and style, as in “table manners,” “ill-mannered” and “What manner of man is this?” As you might expect, lots of hands-on words are derived from the same root: “manual,” “manage,” “manufacture,” “manifest” and “mandate.”
Interestingly, neither is where “man” comes from, but there’s no way I’m going to get into the origins of man here.
Entry Filed under: homonyms
8 Comments Add your own
1. jennie pollock | October 7th, 2008 at 7:22 am
May you continue on the path to recovery!
Jennie Pollock, deputy managing editor
2. Leonardo duh Vinci | October 7th, 2008 at 8:43 am
I suppose you corrected the doctors and nurses about proper English and the pronunciation thereof. In a manner of speaking, I was wondering if you were on vacation, staying in a manor , but always well mannered.
3. Barry Wood | October 8th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Actually, I decided the doctors and nurses could say whatever they wanted, as long as they took care of the problem — which they did. A good rule of thumb: Don’t irk the person holding a scalpel or a needle.
4. Barry Wood | October 8th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Thanks, Jennie. And a fine path it is.
5. Jen Sensible | October 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
We, the Woodies, are relieved that you OK and back correcting our bad English. Don’t ever leave us!
6. Barry Wood | October 16th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Dear Jen Sensible:
Thanks for the Jen sentiment. I’m doing my best on the longevity thing, including eating better and even exercising occasionally, things I should have been doing all along.
7. Loren Floto | October 24th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I extend my belated good wishes for a successful recovery from the stent procedure. I went through the same thing a few years ago, and still marvel about the amazing things mediical personnel can do for us.
I’ve been hearing the expression “sort of” increasingly of late, and it’s irritating me. As I listen to (and love) NPR, that’s where I’ve been hearing it, as a “filler phrase,” I suppose, while the speaker formulates the next part of his statement. Yesterday, for example, a Wall Street Journal reporter said, “(Bernanke’s) whole sort of financial approach had been wrong.” In my perception, “sort of” had nothing to do with the idea being conveyed. In fact, it almost called into question the p=speaker’s conviction and aded a wishy-washy ambiguity to the statement.
What’s your take? Have you noticed the same usage, or have any idea where it’s coming from? Thanks again for contributing so much too our undersdtanding of language.
8. Barry Wood | October 25th, 2008 at 2:04 am
To Loren Floto,
Thanks for the kind words.
As for “sort of,” Webster’s considers it informal for “somewhat,” which I guess I’m sort of used to by now. I haven’t picked up on the usage that’s bugging you, but your assessment of it seems sound: The speaker is saying “hold my place while I sort through what I’m going to say next.”
That’s a big advantage to writing: You get to rethink things before submitting a final draft. Unfortunately, too many people are spitting out text messages and e-mail and such as quickly as they can without editing it. I’m convinced this is a bad habit that carries over into all other types of writing.
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