'Grammar' Gets a Makeover by Rob Kyff on Creators.com

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'Grammar' Gets a Makeover

The word "glamour" is the Susan Boyle of English. Though "glamour" is now a dazzling celebrity, the word began, astoundingly enough, as the nerdy, erudite word "grammar."

Derived from the Latin "grammatica" and, ultimately, from the Greek word "gramma" (letter), "grammar" originally referred only to the study of language and literature. But during medieval times, it came to denote learning in general, including such occult subjects as magic and astrology.

These esoteric "dark arts" of grammar were considered to be mysterious and exciting. Soon alchemists and sorcerers had become the movie stars of medieval Europe, and "grammar" had come to mean "an alluring or fascinating attractiveness."

But how did "grammar" become "glamour"?

Like Boyle, "glamour" is a Scot. During the 1700s, the Scots replaced the "r" in "grammar" with an "l" to produce "glamer" or "glamour."

Eventually, "glamour" spread throughout English with its current meaning of "enchanting allure." Meanwhile, "grammar" withered to its original linguistic roots to mean "the study of the function and relationships of words in a sentence."

Now that "glamour" has been given a complete makeover and gained international celebrity, it's hard to believe that it once stood on the stage, dowdy and diffident, as the scholarly word "grammar." It dreamed a dream.

Let's look at the origins of three other words associated with the study of language:

"Syntax," meaning "the way in which words and phrases are put together," derives from the Greek prefix "syn- " (together) and "tassein" (to arrange).

"Semantics," which surprisingly enough didn't appear in English until the late 1800s, refers to the study of meaning in language.

It derives from the Greek "semainein" (to signify, mean) and, ultimately, from the Greek "sema" (sign), also the root of "semaphore" (a system for sending signals).

"Etymology," the study of the origin and development of words, derives from the Greek "etumos" (true) and "logia" (word), hence it denotes the truth (history) of a word.

During my first year of teaching, when the English department chairman was observing my class one day, I repeatedly referred to "etymology" as "entomology" (the study of insects), a blunder that he gently noted in his evaluation.

Fortunately, I didn't refer to "grammar" as "glamour." That probably would have made his blood … well, boil.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.