A is for Ab Initio

To tell this story ab initio (from the beginning) I have to take you back to the time before I first went to school. I wanted to be an abecedarian. Of course, I didn't know that word back then. I just kept asking my mother when they would teach me the alphabet. When would I learn to read?

Words became my life. Thirty or more years ago, I began to study words on a systematic basis, writing down definitions and etymologies, not only of unfamiliar words but of familiar words for which I could not give a quick definition and derivation.

I guess it had to come to this eventually.

I am reading the dictionary!

Some will find that funny.

It's probably more accurate to say I'm studying the dictionary, perusing the dictionary, skimming some parts, focusing on others.

The idea may have grown from a book my niece gave me called The Know-It-All, One Man's Humble Quest to be the Smartest Person in the World. This guy set out to read the Encyclopedia Britannica in an attempt to prepare for a possible appearance on Jeopardy. He then wrote a book highlighting various interesting things he had learned on his quest.

Much of my life has revolved around learning words, looking up words, researching words, studying words. I thought: Why not do it in a systematic way? Why not start at the beginning and go to the end, from Alef to Tav, from soup to nuts, ab initio to finis?

So yesterday I started. I will be looking for unusual words, interesting words. I will of course be looking at etymologies, which are my passion. I will be highlighting the many different languages from which English derives.

I have chosen The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as my text, for a number of reasons. For one thing, I am most familiar with this dictionary. It has been my constant companion for many years. I like that it is more prescriptive than other dictionaries. In others words, it does not immediately acquiesce to popular usage. No matter how many people say "ain't," for example, it still considers the locution "nonstandard." That noxious pronunciation of nuclear popularized by Jimmy Carter, although accepted by other dictionaries, is still considered an incorrect pronunciation (which by any reasonable standard, it is).

Also, and perhaps even more importantly, The American Heritage Dictionary gives excellent etymologies for most words, whereas not all other dictionaries do.

Check back to my blog occasionally as I make my way alphabetically through the English language. It will be a verbal adventure.

Orig: 5/13/08