wow used an interesting word in a recent post, "plaudits". It reminded me of "pundits", and i'm wondering (1)if the "dit" ending means "to say" (i'm assuming there's a Latin word to that effect, since IIRC the french word for speak is 'dit') (2)are there a bunch of other related words that end in "-dit"?
i'm guessing that the first part of my query falls squarely within the YCLIU guidelines, but i figured i'd be lazy since i know of no search engine that would help me find words based on a suffix. anyone??
Dear bridget96: A while back there was a category for "beheaded words": This looks like a Latin past participle or something, with its end chopped off.
< L plaudite, pl. imper. of plaudere, to applaud6 [usually pl.] 1 an applauding or round of applause
most search engines have a wildcard feature, so you can search for *dit, for example. I tried this at OneLook, but most of the resources returned "too many matches" after getting to 'credit' or thereabouts. I did get a few interesting hits though.
pandit - a wise man (in India) adit - an entrance to a cave (a crossword staple, as I recall) geddit - this surprise from the Cambridge International is given as: interjection BRITISH INFORMAL; used at the end of a statement to attract attention to an obvious play on words, geddit?
Dear tsuwm: Were you crowing, or must I eat crow? Incidentally, I have actually eaten crow. I had a Hungarian friend who was such a remarkable marksman that at a rifle range near the Cape Cod Canal he was able to shoot some young crows, which he said were considered a delicacy in his homeland. He made soup from them, and it was quite acceptable.
Plaudit and pundit are actually from entirely different parts of the globe. Pundit: [a. HindW pa:,it:—Skr. pa:,ita learned, skilled; as n., a learned man. So Pg. pandito, põdito (16–17th c.), F. pandit, formerly pandite, -decte.] a. A learned Hindu; one versed in Sanskrit and in the philosophy, religion, and jurisprudence of India. The Pundit of the Supreme Court (in India) was a Hindu Law-Officer, whose duty it was to advise the English Judges when needful on questions of Hindu Law. The office became extinct on the constitution of the ‘High Court’ in 1862.
wwh's explanation of the origin of plaudit is correct.
Bridget - - You received some good information from our colleagues, but, Cara Dea, no one, up to this point, answered your first question.# (1) about the source Latin verb meaning " to say". As you correctly surmised, there is such a Latin verb - dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - "to say" or "to speak" - which word serves as a base for words of similar meaning in French and, I think, other Romance languages.
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I shall have to keep that in mind!
