• vaunt •
Pronunciation: vawnt • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: To brag about or boast of pretentiously; to bluster about, to tout flamboyantly.
Notes: The Oxford English Dictionary now lists such gems as vauntful and vauntage as archaic, apparently, because no one uses them any more. I think we should. The only current derivatives are vaunter and vaunting, as to be annoyed by the vaunting of the vaunting young woman. Wouldn't you much prefer to be annoyed by the vauntage of the vauntful young woman? (These words are driving my spell-checker crazy but I love them.)
In Play: Today's Good Word is another slipping rapidly from our grasp. Now we hear only the past participle: "I just bought BrainSoft's much vaunted new game and, when I lost, it called me a jerk and shut down my computer." The verb, however, may still be used otherwise: "Eileen Wright vaunts the basketball skills of her son so much, you have to wonder why he spends so much time on the bench." Little remembered fact: Today's Good Word once was an interjection meaning "Scram!" or "Take off!" Still, the expression, "Vaunt, you churlish cur!" (Scram, you sleezy dog!), would be understood by any real fan of Shakespeare.
Word History: Today's word comes from Latin vanitare "to chatter about nothing" via Old French vanter. The Latin verb is a variant of vanare "to talk emptily" from vanus "empty", also the root of vanitas "emptiness", whence English vanity. Vanus is the source of English vain. The original root meant "to leave, abandon, give out", which came to Old English as wanian "to lessen" and to Modern English as wane, want "to lack", and wanton. The last word here was wantowen in Middle English, from want- "lacking" + towen, the past participle of teen "to bring up". So, the original sense of wanton was "lacking up-bringing".
Vaunt
- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 8040
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
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Vaunt
Today's Good Word didn't quite make it here, so here's the original:
Re: VAUNT
From "The Trail of Ninety-Eight" by Robert Service about novice adventurers headed north to the Yukon gold rush. On board a ship, with time on their hands, they shared extravagant dreams:
And one man wanted a castle, another a racing stud;
A third would cruise in a palace yacht like a red-necked prince of blood.
And so we dreamed and we vaunted, millionaires to a man,
Leaping to wealth in our visions long ere the trail began.
And one man wanted a castle, another a racing stud;
A third would cruise in a palace yacht like a red-necked prince of blood.
And so we dreamed and we vaunted, millionaires to a man,
Leaping to wealth in our visions long ere the trail began.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver Proverbs 25:11
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2784
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:41 am
- Location: Texas
Re: Vaunt
Anyone who quotes Robert Service is a friend of mine.
In my day there were vicious vamps verily vaunting vulgarly and voluptuously. Now in my dotage, I wouldn't notice even if they did.
In my day there were vicious vamps verily vaunting vulgarly and voluptuously. Now in my dotage, I wouldn't notice even if they did.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
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