tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688599.post112014465328296810..comments2023-10-12T04:54:05.108-07:00Comments on Deep Freeze 9: English as a foreign languageJP (Pierre) de Vrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02311009024575927588noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688599.post-1121481766392703422005-07-15T19:42:00.000-07:002005-07-15T19:42:00.000-07:00That use of "complacent" is pretty recent. Here's...That use of "complacent" is pretty recent. Here's something from Amy Vanderbilt's Book of Etiquette (1952 owards) quoted by Melissa Banks in "A girls' guide to hunting and fishing":<BR/><BR/>"Insisting on playing a game for which, after a fair amount of time, you show no natural aptitude is frustrating to you and annoying to all but the most complacent opponents"JP (Pierre) de Vrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02311009024575927588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688599.post-1120243336311877572005-07-01T11:42:00.000-07:002005-07-01T11:42:00.000-07:00Another seemingly familiar word that's used very d...Another seemingly familiar word that's used very differently in <EM>Pride and Prejudice</EM> is "complaisant", as in "amid very complaisant smiles and general encouragement" (<A HREF="http://www.pemberley.com/bin/uncgi/uncgi.cgi/ppsearch.sh?_string=complaisant&_strgtwo=" REL="nofollow">Chapter XV of Volume I (Chap. 15)</A>). It has the same etymology as "complacent" (French, from Old French, present participle of complaire, to please, from Latin complacere), and means "exhibiting a desire to please". It shares that meaning with "complacent", but the latter also means "self-satisfied". See dictionary.com's word for the day for <A HREF="http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2003/02/26.html" REL="nofollow">26 Feb 2003</A>.JP (Pierre) de Vrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02311009024575927588noreply@blogger.com