Re: Making it volitional

On Tue, 28 Aug 2001 09:16:18 -0400 Sally Caves <scaves@...>
writes:
> PS.  Actually, John, I think the origin of "ignorant" as a
> pejorative
> relates to literacy.  An "ignorant" person is unread.  Compare
> earlier English distinctions between the "lerned" and the "lewed."
> The "learned" were those who read and wrote Latin, and therefore
> raised themself above the commoners, who were "lewed," "ignorant"
> of letters and learning.  Interestingly, the term "lewed" came to
> mean
> "rough," "rustic," and eventually "sexually rude."  I suspect the
> same
> history pertains to our word "ignorant."  It would be interesting
> to
> consult the OED, which is at school, and I'm at home.
>
> Sally
-

The OED says:

(on their website version, entry:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00132475 )
i cut-n-paste'd it, so a lot of the special characters didn't come out
because they don't use Unicode or anything like that, they just use
little pictures for things like thorn, ash-acute, a-macron, etc.

~~~~~

LEWD, a.

Forms: 1-2 lwede, lwde, (2 ilewede, ileawede), 2-3 leawede, leawde, 2-6
lewed(e, 3 læwed, (Orm. læwedd),
leouwede, loede, 3-5 leuid, 3-7 leude, 3-8 leud, 4 lewet, (?lowed), 4-5
lewid(e, lewyd, leewid, (louwed(e),
?lood, 5-7 leaud(e, 6 leawde, Sc. lewit, 6-7 lude, 4-7 lewde, 4- lewd.
(chiefly north. and Sc.) 2-5 lawed, 3-4
laued, laud, 3-6 lawid(e, 4 lawyt, 4-6 lawd(e, 4-6 (9 arch.) lawit. [OE.
lwede, of difficult etymology.
  The sense suggests formation on Rom. *laigo:eccl. L. licus (see LAY a.
with suffix -ede -ED2; but it is not easy to see the
phonological possibility of this. The attempt to trace the word to a late
L. type *lictus (u stem) is still more open to objection. It has
been proposed to obviate the phonetic difficulties by assuming influence
from the vb. lwan to betray; but the sense is too remote, and
lwede is not participial in form.]

[[[[[****see end of posting for rewritten etymological info*****]]]]]

    1. Lay, not in holy orders, not clerical. Also absol. Obs.

  c890 tr. Bæda's Hist. V. xii[i]. (1890) 428 ara manna sum wæs..bescoren
preost, sum wes læwde [v.r. læwede], sum wæs wifmon.
Ibid. xiii[i]. 436 Sum wær inn læwdum hade [L. vir in laico habitu].
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 131 Ihadede men he munee wel to lerene
ilewede men. Ihadede and lewede feier lif and clene to leden. c1290 Beket
574 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 123 if bi-twene tweie lewede men
were ani striuingue, Our bi-tuene a lewed man and a clerk. a1300 Cursor
M. 26143 If ou mai no preist to wine, us scau a leud [Fairf.
lawed] man i sine. 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 269 Hit wol a-vayle
boe lewed and clerk. 1382 WYCLIF 1 Sam. xxi. 4, I haue
not leeuyd loouys [Vulg. laicos panes] at hoond, but oonli hooli breed.
c1386 CHAUCER Prol. 502 For if a preest be foul, on whom we
truste No wonder is a lewed man to ruste. c1400 MANDEVILLE (Roxb.) xiii,
60 ai hafe aire crownes schauen, e clerkes rownde and
e lawed men foure cornerd. 1530 LYNDESAY Test. Papyngo 1002 Lawit men
hes, now, religious men in curis. 1553 BECON Reliques of
Rome (1563) 246* Al thoe bene accursed that purchasen writtes or letters
of any leude courte. 1819 W. TENNANT Papistry Storm'd
(1827) 212 The hail o' them, by lawit fists, Were haurl'd and howkit frae
their kists.


    b. lewd frere, a lay-brother. Obs.

  c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 41 Late lewid freris seie four & twenti pater
nostris for matynes. c1425 St. Eliz. of Spalbech in Anglia
VIII. 116/30 Wee..made hym a conuers, at is to seye, a lewde frere. c1483
CAXTON Dialogues vii. 24 Bogars, lewd freris. 1530
PALSGR. 239/1 Leude frere, bovrdican.


    2. Unlearned, unlettered, untaught. Obs.

  a1225 Juliana 2 Alle lewede [v.r. leawede] men at understonden ne mahen
latines ledene. a1300 Cursor M. 249 To laud and Inglis
man i spell at understandes at i tell. c1325 Poem temp. Edw. II (Percy)
xix, Then is a lewed priest No better than a jay. 1362 LANGL.
P. Pl. A. I. 125 Lere hit is lewed men for lettrede hit knowe. c1430 Art
of Nombryng (E.E.T.S.) 3 This boke is called e boke of
algorym, or Augrym after lewder vse. c1460 Towneley Myst. vii. 143 Both
to lawd man and to clark. 1513 DOUGLAS Æneis Pref. 412, I
say nocht this of Chaucer for offence Bot till excuse my lawit
insuffitience. 1536 BELLENDEN Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 224, I have maid this
translation mair for pleseir of lawit men, than any vane curius clerkis.
1589 PUTTENHAM Eng. Poesie I. i. (Arb.) 21 Making..the poore
man rich, the lewd well learned, the coward couragious. 1601 HOLLAND
Pliny I. 31 Much adoe there is here, and great debate betweene
learned men; and contrariwise those of the leaud and ignorant multitude.


    b. absol., esp. in the phrases learned (or lered) and lewed, lewed
and clerks. Obs.

  c1200 ORMIN 967 And mikell hellpe to e follc, to læredd & to læwedd.
c1205 LAY. 31830 Quelen a lareden, quelen a leouweden.
c1320 Sir Beues 4020 (MS. A.) ong and elde, lewed and lered. c1400 Destr.
Troy 4424 And for the case is vnknowen be course to e
lewd, Here sumwhat I say. c1470 HARDING Chron. CCXLI. vi, Thei bee as
manly, learned and lewed, As any folke. 1529 MORE Dyaloge
III. Wks. 224/2 The Jewes bee not letted to reade theyr law bothe learned
& lewde. a1568 R. ASCHAM Scholem. I. (Arb.) 45 This,
lewde and learned, by common experience, know to be most trewe.


    c. Of speech and the like: Rude, artless.

  c1425 LYDG. Assembly of Gods 403 Othyr mynstrall had they none, safe
Pan gan to carpe Of hys lewde bagpype. 1513 DOUGLAS
Æneis I. Prol. 21 With bad harsk speche and lewit barbour tong. 1560
ROLLAND Crt. Venus Prol. 326 For commoun folk will call the
[this book] lawit and lidder.


    3. Belonging to the lower orders; common, low, vulgar, ‘base’. Obs.
(In the latest quot. used arch. with allusion
to sense 7.)

  c1380 WYCLIF Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 40 Sum tyme weren mounkes lewede men,
as seintis in Jerusalem. c1386 CHAUCER Pars. T. 408
(Harl. MS.) e secounde is to chese e lewedest [other MSS. lowest,
loweste] place ouer al. c1394 P. Pl. Crede 568 He loue..lowynge
of lewed men in Lentenes tyme. c1470 HENRY Wallace XI. 266 Rewid in his
mynd at it was hapnyt sa, Sa lewd a deid to lat him wndyrta.
1548 W. PATTEN Exped. Scot. Hijb, Howbeit hereby I cannot count ony lost
whear but a fewe leude souldiers ran rashely out of array
without standard or Captayn. 1552 LYNDESAY Monarche 5339 Rychtso the
sterris thay do compare To the lawd common populare.
1598 BARRET Theor. Warres II. i. 25 Many men..shall you see in a lewd Ale
house. 1612 DAVIES Why Ireland, etc. (1787) 173 The
march-law, which in the statutes of Kilkenny, is said to be no law, but a
lewd custom. 1640 YORKE Union Hon. 252 Robert Riddesdale,
Captaine of the lewd people in Northamptonshire. [1796 BURKE Regic. Peace
i. Wks. VIII. 179 A lewd tavern for the revels and
debauches of banditti, assassins, bravos, smugglers, and their more
desperate paramours.]


    4. Ignorant (implying a reproach); foolish, unskilful, bungling;
ill-bred, ill-mannered. Obs.

  c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 409 is is e lewiderste fendis skile at euere
cam out of his leesingis. c1386 CHAUCER Merch. T. 1031
Ye men shul been as lewed as gees. a1420 HOCCLEVE De Reg. Princ. 3864, I
am as lewed and dulle as is an asse. c1440 Gesta Rom.
viii. 21 (Harl. MS.) es too knytis..e wise knyt and e lewde. c1449 PECOCK
Repr. V. ii. 488 A lewder and febler skile or argument
can noman make. 1509 BARCLAY Shyp of Folys (1874) I. 60 Alas the Shepherd
is lewder than the shepe. 1522 World & Child (Roxb.
Club) Cijb, Ye, I praye the, leue thy lewde claterynge. a1568 R. ASCHAM
Scholem. I. (Arb.) 18 The small discretion of many leude
Scholemasters. 1570 Homilies II. Agst. Wilful Rebell. IV. (1859) 581 Not
those wounds which are printed in a clout by some lewd
painter. 1603 KNOLLES Hist. Turks (1621) 961 Amurath..rated them all
exceedingly, reproving their lewd counsell. 1620 J. WILKINSON
Coroners & Sherifes 75 A lewd or an ignorant undersherif may both undoe
his high Sherife and himselfe. a1639 MARMION Antiquary II.
i. (1641) D1b, I might have..gone on In the lewd way of loving you. 1710
PHILIPS Pastorals ii. 73 A lewd Desire strange Lands and
Swains to know.


    5. Of persons, their actions, etc.: Bad, vile, evil, wicked, base;
unprincipled, ill-conditioned; good-for-nothing,
worthless, ‘naughty’. Obs.

  c1386 CHAUCER Manciple's T. 80 The lewedeste wolf at she may fynde Or
leest of reputacion. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) III.
viii. 55 Al be hit that for somtyme theyr lewd lyf displesid to them
seluen. c1481 E. PASTON in P. Lett. III. 279 Plese zow..to forgeve me,
and also my wyffe of owr leude offence that we have not don ower dute.
1538 STARKEY England I. iv. 139 Every lude felow,
now-a-days, and idul lubbur, that can other rede or syng, makyth hymselfe
prest. 1569 GOLDING Heminges Post. Ded. 2 The Scripture
accounted him a leaude servant, that hidde his Talent in the ground. 1581
SAVILE Tacitus, Hist. I. lxxxiii. (1591) 46 A state gotten by
lewde meanes [L. scelere quæsitum] cannot be retayned. a1607 MARKHAM in
Topsell's Four-f. Beasts 415 If the Smith that driueth
such a naile be so lewd, as he wil not looke vnto it before the horse
depart. 1611 BIBLE Acts xvii. 5 Certaine lewd fellowes [Gr.
      ] of the baser sort. 1633 T. STAFFORD Pac. Hib. I. viii. 58 Dermond
O'Conner hath played a lewd part amongst us heere. 1667
MILTON P.L. IV. 193 So since into his Church lewd Hirelings climbe. 1698
FRYER Acc. E. India & P. 169 To desist from his lewd
Courses of Robbing and Stealing. 1709 J. JOHNSON Clergym. Vade M. II. p.
c, So the lewd boy when he had set his mother's house on
fire because she had corrected him..cried out [etc.]. [1829 SOUTHEY Sir
T. More (1831) I. 97 If not ashamed to beg, too lewd to work,
and ready for any kind of mischief.]


    6. Of things: Bad, worthless, poor, sorry.

  1362 LANGL. P. Pl. A. I. 163 Chastite withouten Charite..Is as lewed as
a Laumpe at no liht is Inne. c1430 LYDG. Min. Poems (Percy
Soc.) 115 Hys merthys wer but lewed, He was so sore dred of dethe. 1462
Paston Lett. II. 107 He hathe here of Avereyes xxiiij. tune
wyn, whereof at the long wey he shal make the seyd Averey a lewd
rekenyng. 1575 CHURCHYARD Chippes (1817) 107 For this assault,
lewd ladders, vile and nought The souldiours had, which were to shorte
God wot. 1581 T. HOWELL Deuises (1879) 245 Ne lewde is he
on whom lewde luck doth light. 1596 SHAKES. Tam. Shr. IV. iii. 65 A
Veluet dish: Fie, fie, 'tis lewd and filthy. 1618 FLETCHER Loyal
Subj. III. iii, I love thy face..Tis a lewd one, So truely ill Art cannot
mend it. 1678 A. BEHN Sir Patient Fancy I. i, Then, Madam, I write
the lewdest hand. 1692 R. L'ESTRANGE Josephus, Antiq. I. xvi. (1733) 21
His way lay through Macedonia..which..is a lewd and
incommodious Passage for Travellers.


    7. [Developed from 5.] Lascivious, unchaste. (The surviving sense.)

  c1386 CHAUCER Miller's Prol. 37 Lat be thy lewed dronken harlotrye.
c1430 Freemasonry 620 In holy churche lef nyse wordes Of
lewed speche, and fowle wordes. 1551 ROBINSON tr. More's Utop. II. vi.
(1895) 195 The peruerse and malicious flickeringe inticementes
of lewde and vnhoneste desyres. 1594 SHAKES. Rich. III, III. vii. 72 He
is not lulling on a lewd Loue-Bed. 1602 WARNER Alb. Eng. X.
lix. (1612) 259 Lewde Ammon, thou didst lust in deede, and then thy Rape
reiect. 1634 MILTON Comus 465 When lust..by leud and
lavish act of sin Lets in defilement to the inward parts. 1682 BURNET
Rights Princes v. 176 Being a lewd and vicious Prince, who had
delivered himself up to his pleasures. 1712 ARBUTHNOT John Bull IV. i, He
had been seen in the company of lewd women. 1759
JOHNSON Idler No. 38 12 The lewd inflame the lewd. 1838 LYTTON Leila I.
iv, Their harlot songs. and their dances of lewd delight.
1871 R. ELLIS tr. Catullus lxiv. 147 If once lewd pleasure attain unruly
possession. 1883 OUIDA Wanda I. 296 A singer of lewd songs.

~~~~~

The etymological info went like this, putting back all the other
characters:

(A: = A-macron ; (AE') = Ash-acute)

The sense suggests formation on Rom. *la:igo -- eccl. L. la:icus (see LAY
a. with suffix -ede -ED2; but it is not easy to see the phonological
possibility of this. The attempt to trace the word to a late L. type
*la:ica:tus (u stem) is still more open to objection. It has been
proposed to obviate the phonetic difficulties by assuming influence from
the vb. l(ae')wan to betray; but the sense is too remote, and l(ae')wede
is not participial in form.]


-Stephen (Steg)
"white shirts have no personality" ~ A.W.