The Etymology of Donald Trump

Etymology is an interesting field – if you have a nerdy disposition. It is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. If you took a college-level English grammar or linguistics course, you were probably exposed to it at some point. If you were enough of a nerd to major in either of those subjects, it probably became something of a pastime anywhere along the spectrum from hobby to obsession (in the interests of disclosure, I double-majored in both subjects). Most people would call etymology enthusiasts “word nerds”.

Comedian Larry Wilmore post tweets with the tag @WordBlerd (a Blerd is a black nerd), and WordBlerd segments are one of the most popular bits on The Nightly Show. Word nerds find humor in things that go way over most people’s heads, like the following joke:

Q: What’s the difference between an entomologist and an etymologist?

A: An entomologist is someone who studies bugs; an etymologist is someone who can explain the difference between an entomologist and an etymologist.

Once you get past the nerd factor, etymology can be quite interesting. For example, one of the first “reality” shows was That’s Incredible!, which aired on ABC from 1980 through 1984. Knowing the etymology of “incredible” (From Latin incrēdibilis “that cannot be believed”, combining in- “not” + crēdibilis “worthy of belief”), I heartily agreed. I couldn’t believe that people actually watched that crap. Most people, unaware of the word’s origins, assumed “incredible” meant one of its modern synonyms:

amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring; marvelous; profoundly affecting; wonderful

Which brings me to Donald Trump. One of his favorite words is “amazing”. His brain is “amazing”. He won’t disclose any details of the policies he intends to follow if he is elected, but he promises they will be “amazing”. Trump himself is “amazing”; he will have an “amazing” administration; he will surround himself with “amazing” people; he will make America “amazingly great again”. He opens his rallies with statements like this (from Dallas): “Wow. Amazing. Amazing, thank you. So exciting.” His sons use the word when talking about their father. In speaking about losing Cadillac as a sponsor for the PGA Tournament, Donaldspawn Eric Trump told Reuters, “… Cadillac is an amazing company and a longtime partner to the Trump Organization and we have an impeccable relationship”.

It rubs off on others. Leroy Newton Gingrich called the Trump presidential bid, “…what has up to now been an amazing populist campaign.” Shia LaBeouf said, “To be able to sit in Donald Trump’s apartment and talk about the future of corporate real estate was amazing. Contestants on The Apprentice consistently described it as an “amazing experience”.

As with that old TV show, most people are thinking of the usual modern equivalents:

to fill with wonder and surprise; to astonish; astound; surprise.

Let’s look at that. Here is the pedigree of the English word “amazing”:

From Middle English amasen (“to bewilder, perplex”), from Old English āmasian (“to confuse, astonish”), from ā- (perfective prefix) + masian (“to confound”), from mæs (“delusion, bewilderment”), from Proto-Germanic mas-, masōną (“to confound, be weary, dream”), from Proto-Indo-European mā- (“to stupefy”). Akin to Old Norse masa (“to struggle, be confused”), Ancient Greek μάτη (mátē, “folly”), μέμαα (mémaa, “I was eager”).

Etymology to the rescue:

I find Donald Trump bewildering.

He is both confused and confusing.

He is delusional.

I am weary of him.

I dream that I will wake up one morning to find that he is gone.

He is stupefying.

I struggle to understand why people like him.

It is folly to vote for him.

I am eager to see him lose.

One thing I do not find him is “amazing” in the current sense of the word.

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %