Skip to main content

"Come over" and etymology of other idioms


Can someone explain the etymology of using over in expressions like come over to and go over to as in "pay a casual visit"?


Is there a source for the etymology of idiomatic expressions somewhere?



Answer



I think that this is one example (well, pair of examples) where an analytical approach is better than an overall view - looking at the semantics of the preposition over, rather than treating 'come over to' as a lexeme best considered opaque. (I'll have to bite the bullet and treat over as an intransitive preposition in these examples.)


Kota Kodachi, in 'A Study of Prototype Formation of the Meanings of Prepositions...' at http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL10/pdfs/kodachi.pdf , looks at the semantics involved in the various senses of various English prepositions, suggesting a logical hierarchy that the senses fit into. Though he majors on the prepositions at, in and on, I'll suggest an analogous treatment of over.


One model illustrated, put forward by Tanaka, is that prepositions have:




  1. a central (prototypical) sense which is spatial (locative or directional);




  2. a less central looser spatial sense;




  3. non-spatial (in the geometric sense) senses.




(Other models differ; temporal usage may be seen as an alternative prototypical usage.)


Illustrating Tanaka's model with on:




  1. on the table / floor




  2. on the bus / train




  3. on time / on the hour / on fire / on tenterhooks / on good terms with / on the pull ...




It could be argued that a three-point scale is not adequately differentiated - does 'on television' come in category 2, 3, or somewhere between?


On this model, over in come over to is the less central looser spatial sense:


1a. over the lake (= above the lake)


1b. over the lake (= from one side to the other)


1c. over the river (= on the other bank)


2 not 1. go over [the intervening ground] to see someone


3 not 2. Brazil's victory over Spain


The best overall treatment of fixed expressions (including idioms) that I know of is


Fixed Expressions and Idioms in English: A Corpus-Based Approach by


Rosamund Moon


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more