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#208524 - 12/28/12 12:46 PM Evacuee.....
LukeJavan8 Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/08 Posts: 5288 Loc: Land of the Flat Water	Letter to the Times,London, Oct. 14, 1939: Sir, If ordinary English usage counts for anything, an evacuee is a person who has been evacued, whatever that may be, as a trustee is one who has been trusted; for 'evacuee' cannot be thought of as a feminine French form, as 'employee' is by some. Where are we going to stop if 'evacuee' is accepted as good English? Is a terrible time coming in which a woman, much dominated by her husband, will be called a dominee? Will she often be made a humiliee by his rough behavior and sometimes prostree with grief after an unsought quarrel? Must sensitive people suffer the mutilation of their language until they die and are ready to become cremees? I am, Sir, your obedient servant, F.H.J. Newton _________________________ ----please, draw me a sheep----
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#208530 - 12/28/12 04:01 PM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13654	Oh, noes!!! People are using the language in a manner different from the way I do. Make them stop, mommy!!!
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#208531 - 12/28/12 05:25 PM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: Faldage]
Rhubarb Commando old hand Registered: 11/13/11 Posts: 1030 Loc: Lancaster, UK	Well, despite Mr Newtons protestations, (he, of course is a protestee)evacuee became the accepted word for someone who had been "evacuated." The alternative would have been, "evacuatee," I suppose, which is ugly and difficult to say. The English have always, I think, modified words to fit easy speech - and a good thing too. _________________________ I'm immortal until proven otherwise
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#208535 - 12/29/12 11:08 AM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/13/05 Posts: 3269 Loc: R'lyeh	Must sensitive people suffer the mutilation of their language until they die and are ready to become cremees? Sensitive people should learn some historical linguistics which ought to prepare them for the real world of language. The A-H dictionary does not even have a usage note where such peeves go; M-W collegiate cites 1918 as its entry into the language. (Looking at its timeline in Google's NGram, shows that 1939, that annus mirabilis) was indeed when it took off. Wonder what FHJ Newton was doing then? Being demobbed and getting ready to bash heads in the General Strike. My personal favorite of the -ee words is alienee 'one to whom ownership of property has been transferred'. _________________________ Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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#208640 - 01/01/13 09:00 PM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
A C Bowden journeyman Registered: 10/22/10 Posts: 75 Loc: London, UK	Quote: 'evacuee' cannot be thought of as a feminine French form Why not? It is a feminine French form.
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#208643 - 01/01/13 09:18 PM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13654	Not in English, it ain't.
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#208644 - 01/01/13 09:22 PM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13654	Probably not in French, either. We have others who could comment on that with more authority. Nope. I was wrong. It is good French as long as you put the accents agues in the right places.
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#208651 - 01/02/13 07:04 AM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: Faldage]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5249 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	évacuée. Not claiming authority but yes, strip them of the accents aigus/ accents agues and it's English. As goes for this book title: Protegee
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#208652 - 01/02/13 07:27 AM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: BranShea]
zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/13/05 Posts: 3269 Loc: R'lyeh	évacuée In the sense of 'a (female) person who has been expelled or evacuated' from the verb évacuer. The French dictionary I consulted says it's a military term and that it's been around since at least the late 17th century. It seems possible that the French military term predates the English one. _________________________ Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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#208656 - 01/02/13 08:21 AM Re: Evacuee..... [Re: LukeJavan8]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13654	Etymology Online says it dates to 1934 in English. And, yes, we got it from the French, so blame them. Edited by Faldage (01/02/13 08:21 AM)
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