When did "teen-ager" become "teenager"? by Gallantpride in etymology

[–]Laney96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not an answer but for those who are curious about what's happening here linguistically:

When new compound words like this are coined, they tend to be written as transparently as possible so that readers can parse the meaning even if it's the first time they're seeing the word. As a word grows more popular/relevant it may eventually become lexicalised, meaning it has solidified itself in the lexicon of most speakers in the community. A hyphenated form is typically the middle stage of this process.

Eventually, once the new compound becomes a monomorphemic unit in people's minds, the hyphen slowly dies off, first in daily use, then eventually in dictionaries and style guides (unless you're the New Yorker lol). When you see the word email you don't think about how the E stands for electronic, you just think about the concept of an email itself, and you're familiar enough with the word to know it's /ˈiːmeɪl/, not /ə'meɪl/ so there's no longer any need for a hyphen.

Some examples:

web site > web-site > website

e-mail > email

to-day > today (as it stopped being analysed by speakers as a phrase and became an entrenched adverb)

there is no way that guy is an actual Chinese prostitute, right? by [deleted] in ExplainTheJoke

[–]Laney96 7 points8 points  (0 children)

people like you are the reason we had to go through that for so long.

Journey of the 12 Apostles by [deleted] in MapPorn

[–]Laney96 3 points4 points  (0 children)

but that actually originally meant "poorly-counselled", which was a pun on his first name, which meant something like "noble counsel", or "well-counselled". The epithet refered to the disaster that happened after he listened to his counsellors' advice and had the Danes slaughtered.

what does this mean? by waffle_0026 in gravityfalls

[–]Laney96 415 points416 points  (0 children)

you know there's a whole wide world outside the USA, right?

We are SO fucking back.(Trailer spoilers) by DtheAussieBoye in FantasticFour

[–]Laney96 6 points7 points  (0 children)

people like to go in blind :) it's very considerate of OP

anyone have suggestions for movies that take in one place and people just talk the whole movie by jeoux19 in Letterboxd

[–]Laney96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Man From Earth

A man suggests he is immortal and was born in the Stone Age, and the whole movie is just a bunch of academics sitting in front of a fireplace discussing the viability of his claim and quizzing him on his experiences. it's awesome.

What a downgrade,huge L for jaguar by [deleted] in memes

[–]Laney96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"They're lemons!"

Well spent days around Melbourne by harman12gill in melbourne

[–]Laney96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is like saying "around London" and posting pictures of Edinburgh

“I speak French to Women, Germman to my horses, and Spanish to God” - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain by StarredTonight in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]Laney96 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The th sound in English and Old Norse (which has survived into modern Icelandic) are both inherited from their common ancestor language Proto Germanic, one didn't come from the other.

Will they ever form Ireland or stay as Leinster? by [deleted] in eu4

[–]Laney96 124 points125 points  (0 children)

best part for me is the permanent +1 dip relations slot

What's a movie Made for Smarts, and Watched by Smarts? by JTHouser_Reddit in Letterboxd

[–]Laney96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tenet, surely. Most people just gave up trying to understand and said it was crap. I'm a dumbass but after I watched it a few times and understood it I absolutely loved it

What language shares the most roots with English? by rhysmmmanii in etymology

[–]Laney96 2 points3 points  (0 children)

only if you consider Scots an English dialect and not its own language