Monday, April 21, 2014

Eveything* (for Everything*)

Our typo of the day comes from a group of Evey-related errors, including Eveyone*, Eveybody*, Eveywhere*, and Eveyday*. All garner results in both OhioLINK and WorldCat, but Eveything* gets the greatest number of hits, i.e., eight in the former and 111 in the latter. Once you have said everything, there's not much left to say, except that I like this photo more than anything right now, and am glad to see that love, along with sunshine and shadows, is clearly what makes the world go round.

Oh wait, I just thought of something else to say, or rather to ask: What is the relationship, if any, between umbra (part of a shadow, along with penumbra and antumbra) and umbrage (displeasure, resentment, or offense, as in "to give or take umbrage")? Heavy, huh? Answer: While not everything in English makes sense (no offense), there is a connection here of sorts. The Free Dictionary tells us that the word umbrage "originally meant 'shade, shadow,' then shadowy suspicion, and then displeasure or resentment at a slight or insult." So I guess when it comes to umbra, things can go both ways. However, as my old childhood church put it on a sign announcing its upcoming Easter services: "Love Wins."

(L*O*V*E* Shadows Everything, Sydney, Australia, 30 December 2009, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid

1 comment:

casebook said...

Hi Carol,
I'd conjecture the shadow in "umbrage" might stand for the slight or disrespect itself, rather than the suspicion, cf examples at http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/take-umbrage.html
"Put somebody in the shade" meaning to make someone look bad by comparison, could be a related idea.
Cheers,
Jonathan