Dont Snite in Public

Dont Snite in Public Don’t Snite in Public Don’t Snite in Public By Maeve Maddox Every so often I renew my attempts to read Beowulf in the original Old English. I suppose the pleasure I derive from the effort is similar to that of the geologist who goes fossil hunting. The delight springs from discovery. It’s fun to find, among the many strange ancient forms, a word that is still in use, with the same meaning, a thousand years later. More often, though, a word that at first sight recalls a modern word turns out to be something quite different. Take for example a word that frequently draws giggles from undergrads because of its similarity to our unlovely word snot. snotor: adj., prudent, wise snotor-lice: adv., wisely, prudently Hrothgar, the king haunted by Grendel, is described as snotor. The adjective derives from the noun snyttru, â€Å"wisdom, discernment.† Our word snot, on the other hand, meaning â€Å"nasal mucus,† existed in OE as gesnot. This word is related, reasonably enough, to the word snout, â€Å"the projecting nose of an animal.† Besides its literal meaning, snot has figurative uses. The first recorded use of snot to mean â€Å"a despicable person† is 1809. The adjective, snotty, came along in 1870, with the meaning â€Å"impudent, curt, conceited.† Snotnose, to describe an immature or inexperienced person, was first recorded in 1941. Old English had a verb snyttan, â€Å"to wipe or pick one’s nose.† As snite, it survives in dialect to refer to a particularly unpleasant way of blowing ones nose. Maybe snite deserves a place in the standard language as a simpler way to talk about rhinotillexis. Mothers could admonish their children not to snite in public. As for snotor, I guess that was just an excuse to write about snot. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business EmailsIn Search of a 4-Dot EllipsisUsing "May" in a Question