AGOG

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

AGOG

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:38 pm

• agog •

Pronunciation: ah-gahg Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Excited, stirred up, thrilled. 2. Taken aback, wide-eyed with surprise.

Notes: Today's is a word many of us use without knowing exactly what it means. All the dictionaries claim that it means only "excited" as we have stated above. It's meaning is sliding a bit off center, however, as will be mentioned in the Word History below. It is a defective adjective in that it may be used only in the predicate of a sentence (She was agog) and never before a noun (the agog girl), like other adjectives beginning on a-: asleep, afloat, adrift.

In Play: Because the two meanings of today's Good Word are so close, they often blend together, giving us a complex palimpsest of meanings: "The children were agog at all the presents and goodies under the Christmas tree." However, visual surprise is not necessarily a part of the meaning of today's Good Word: "Maud Lynn Dresser was agog at the prospect of the spring cotillion, which was now only a week away."

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from the French expression à gogo "galore" as in vivre à gogo "to live high on the hog". It came from the Old French expression en gogues "frolicsome, mirthsome, in a festive mood". However, the association of the sound of this word with words associated with staring (to goggle, go goo-goo eyed, gongoozle, ogle) has led it to be used more and more in reference to seeing something surprising. This becomes clear in the Wordnik examples of the word. French à gogo probably influenced English go-go as in the go-go dancers of the 60s. However, this word originated in the expression go-go-go, meaning always on the move, as to be a go-go-go girl all the time. (Katy Brezger certainly leaves us agog at the intriguing Good Words, like today's, that she suggests.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: AGOG

Postby Slava » Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:40 pm

I always taken this to mean staring, but also with eyes wide open. Either in surprise, or questioning surprise.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 45 guests