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Thu 17 Mar, 2005 07:58 am
Hi everybody,
I'm a bit diffident of my comprehension to these words' meaning.I'll say what I have in my mind though.
I think capricious has a connection with desire.The word ( verb ) snort is a disgusting sound only when laughing ( I suppose ).Snoring during sleep, but I'm not sure about whimsical.
Could somebody clear the way for me?, thanks
Capricious originally meant "like a goat" (from the Latin capra). Somebody capricious is someone whose wishes and ideas leap about in a haphazard way like a grazing goat. It definitely expresses unreliability - a capricious person can want something desperately today, and not care twopence about it tomorrow.
Whimsical is a trickier word. A whim is an idle, capricious idea or fancy, so a whimsical person is full of such fancies. But "whimsical" doesn't normally suggest strong feelings; a whimsical person would probably just give up if you refused to indulge their whims, whereas a capricious person might well persist strongly - till s/he lost interest!
"Snore" only refers to the noise made during sleep, or when unconscious from a head injury. It is a continuous action, whereas a "snort" is a single one (though it can be repeated of course). You might snort with derision, or if something makes you laugh when you're taking a drink and the liquid goes up your nose! Animals also can be said to snort - pigs, etc.
I wouldn't say that snorting by humans was disgusting, precisely, but it certainly isn't a polite thing to do at the dinner table.
Thanks syntinen.So, as a difference I can say that capricious is stronger than whimsical in feeling and wanting something.
Oops, forgot.I think the disgusting sound described by the word grunt not snort.
Quote:Thanks syntinen.So, as a difference I can say that capricious is stronger than whimsical in feeling and wanting something.
Goats have a reputation in the western world for being contrary, independent, somewhat unpredictable animals. Hence "capricious" has overtones of being just a bit out-of-bounds.
"Whimsical" has more civilized overtones. A whimsical person is more cerebral, more gentel than a capricious person.
Hi Noddy, thanks.I want to know the difference between gentle and genteel.Which one do you often use? I think genteel is the extremely polite person.
These are deep waters, Watson....specifically, we are floundering about in the history of class prejudice.
Gentle originally meant "of noble birth", from the Latin gentilis . A man from a noble family was a gentleman. In the Middle Ages - and for some time afterwards - the nobility took it for granted that only they had good manners and finer feelings, and so gentle took on its present meaning "kind, mild, soft in manner". (Which I suspect would have startled the serfs being sacked, raped and pillaged by robber barons, but there you go.) The equivalent French word, gentil, evolved similarly, so in modern French "Tu es tres gentil" means "That's very kind/nice/generous of you". A version of the French pronunciation was re-adopted into English as genteel, with the earlier meaning "well-bred, polite".
However, attitudes to class continue to complicate the use of all these words, (except gentle, which has managed to shed its class implications entirely). In the 19th century you could describe someone as "genteel" and it would be a straightforward compliment. Now it is often used in a faintly sarcastic and jeering way, with the implication that "genteel people" are snobbish, old-fashioned, pernickety. And if you used it in a complimentary way you would risk being thought snobbish yourself (i.e. people might think you endorsed the idea that only the upper classes know how to behave properly).
The words gentleman and gentlemanly also present the same difficulty. I believe (I hope there are some Americans out there who can confirm or correct me in saying this) that Americans, after two centuries as citizens of a republic, can use these words to describe a person of good manners and honourable behaviour, without any class implications. But in Britain we still have a hereditary nobility and gentleman still is a technical term for a specific social status, so they can't be used in a completely class-neutral way.
Thanks syntinen, that was of a help.I was knowing only the following,
gentle: careful in the way you behave, so that you don't hurt or damage anyone or anything.
genteel: extremely polite because you belong to a high social class.
Syntinen gave a masterful explanation. I have nothing to add.
syntinen wrote:Gentle originally meant "of noble birth", from the Latin gentilis .
There are some etymology dictionaries with a slightly different opinion:
gentle
c.1225, from O.Fr. gentil "high-born, noble," from L. gentilis "of the same family or clan," from gens (gen. gentis) "race, clan," from root of gignere "beget" (see kin), from PIE base *gen- "produce." Sense of "gracious, kind" (now obsolete) first recorded c.1280; that of "mild, tender" is 1552. Older sense remains in gentleman "well-born man" (c.1275). Gentleman's agreement is first attested 1929.
Quote:Main Entry: 1gen·tle Pronunciation Guide
Pronunciation: jentl
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): gentler \-t()l(r)\; gentlest \-t()l-\
Etymology: Middle English gentil, from Latin gentilis of the same clan or family or race, from gent-, gens clan, family, race (from the stem of gignere to beget) + -ilis -ile -- more at KIN
1 a : belonging to a family of high social station : of noble or aristocratic birth <two distinct classes; the gentle ... and the ungentle -- E.E.Reynolds>; specifically : having the rank or status of a gentleman (sense 1b) b archaic : having the qualities ascribed to a person of noble birth : CHIVALROUS, COURTEOUS c : HONORABLE, NOBLE, DISTINGUISHED <we were both of gentle blood -- T.B.Costain>; specifically : of or relating to a gentleman <a man of gentle birth, as "Mr." prefixed to his name ... indicates -- Eleanor Dobson> d : KIND, AMIABLE -- used especially in address as a complimentary epithet <what ought we to do, gentle sisters -- W.S.Gilbert> <let not the gentle reader rush in blithely -- D.F.Fleming> e : suited to a person of noble birth or high social station : WORTHY, ESTIMABLE <the gentle art of angling>
2 a : TAMED, DOMESTICATED : quiet, tractable, and docile <a gentle horse> b (1) : benignly gracious or kind in manner : not harsh or stern : MILD, CONSIDERATE, TENDER <a vein of gentle irony that makes us smile -- R.A.Hall b.1911> <the gentle eyes of my professor -- Years of the Modern> <his speech was soft, his manners gentle> (2) : not violent : PEACEFUL <convert the natives by gentle means> <bring about peaceful social revolution by gentle persuasion -- Current Biography> <bring about the gentle coexistence of Communists and non-Communists -- Max Ascoli> (3) : not boisterously energetic <his mother came of a gentler and less adventurous stock -- W.B.Parker>
3 a(1) : not rough : SOFT <the gentle touch of her hand> <a gentle mind> <his gentle tongue -- Jean Stafford> (2) : not flowing roughly or rapidly <a gentle stream> b (1) : not loud or noisy : SOOTHING, SOFT, LOW, HUSHED <a gentle voice> <heard a gentle knock on the door> (2) : delicate in mood, texture, or taste : not harsh or blatant <a gentle nocturne> <the most delicate and gentle pink -- Geoffrey Grigson> <a gentle wine>
4 a : moderate in operation or degree <a gentle sun shone down> <a gentle heat> <give gentle exercise every day -- Emily Holt> b : not steep <a gentle hill> <a gentle slope>
5 dialect Britain : of, relating to, or frequented by fairies <a gentle place> <gentle bushes>
synonym see SOFT
source: "gentle." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002.
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (26 Mar. 2005).
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