Glamour
from Scots
This word originated in Scotland
Where else would you find glamour but on a windswept Scottish heath? Though you might look elsewhere for glamour today, the Scottish dialect of English is where all other English speakers got the word. Of course the Scots had a more serious meaning for it.
Originally it meant nothing more or less than grammar, the study of the proper form of words and sentences. This was back in the Middle Ages, when only a few clerics and clerks (both words have the same origin) knew how to write. To others, grammar meant something mysterious and magical, as it still does to many who wrestle with the language today. Eventually grammar came to have a secondary meaning of "magic."
In Scots, the word had an l instead of the first r. We find writers from Scotland using this magical glamour in English as early as 1720. Later in the eighteenth century, the poet Robert Burns writes of
And the novelist Sir Walter Scott discussed the magical glamour in his Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft (1830).
In the twentieth century, it was apparently American usage that transferred the glamour of magic to the glamour of fashion, personality, and life style. To make the word even more glamorous, Americans retained the British our ending instead of changing it to or as we usually do (in words like color and flavor).
WordNet information about glamour
WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. More from WordNet
35 comments:
Wow, Ellen, this is amazing. And sooo cute.
That comment was supposed to be from me - mum did it wrong. She thinks it's amazing too, though.
I love your drawings.. the emotion you get with a pencil is wonderful! Excellent!
The drawing is equisite but even more I love what you've told about glamour.
And I was wondering about the spelling.
Thanks!
I love your animal illustrations! My blogs are about animals.
the detail is incredible - well done!
Love those fuzzy ears! Your animals are so great.
I don't know what's more impressive - that you bothered to study what "glamour" is to such an extent, or that you managed to draw such cuddly bunnies! :)
very beautiful!! Love your interpretation of the theme!
Very glamorous! Guess the Americans would make bunnies into stales? Whoops, I had better be careful with what I say. They are far too fine to do anything but pose on the top hat :)
Love the story and the illo. Nice work.
love
those bunnies are wonderful, especially the one coming out of the hat - he looks like a mischevious one!
I love your bunnies. excellant drawing. and i love the fact you gave so much info here. i looked up the meaning of Glamour and posted what the dictionary said. you tell the whole story and i love it
This is a great take on the word 'Glamour' - to go back to the root and illustrate the meaning! I love it!
Great drawing!
Keep Creating...
The details in the fur is great...I want to pet their furry ears!
Smooch,
The Tart & The Fireman!
Great job--another excellent drawing from you! Very interesting write up about the current topic too.
Wonderful illustration and interesting post--I love word origins.
beautiful work! I love your illo and learned something new too!
fascinating! and the rabbits are wonderful!
Great job. I love that grammer is glamorous! I know some kids, Scot or otherwise, that would disagree nowadays.
Thanks for the story of gkamour... and i love your rabbits! Such fine work you do:>
Fascinating, and a gorgeous drawing.
Wonderful pen and ink technique throughout your site -- it just keeps getting better and better!
Your linework is so great, all the details are delightful. Very fun!
wow, that makes so much more sense.
when you consider that the "glamourous" do have that certain je ne sais quois.
great post, and great line work.
Very cool!! You have made me very happy with your comments and your drawings... I´ve learned a new thing reading your texts! Thanks for sharing it...
:D
Thanks for the OED gloss!! I would never had realized the connection... although I did have a tough time understanding the Scots.... who often seemed to be gargling their R's and L's!
What gorgeous bunnies!!! they are glam indeed!
ACx
Howdy, Ellen! As usual, your take on the subject is an original (and educational, as well)! Very cool. Of course the linework here is impressive too.
This is a wonderful bunny drawing. And magical!
Thanks for the information on the word glamour. I find word origins so interesting.
Dear Ellen,
thank you for the amazing words you've left at my blog.I was really happy.One stays here working and never thinks that it will influence people somehow.
I liked your post, everyday is a good day to learn something new.I had no idea Glamour had such a story :-)
C.P.
Love your pen technique!
Is this true? How interesting, I love the history of words and sayings, and how they morph into new meanings is fascinating. Once when I was on a Shakesphere tourist tour in England I was amazed to learn how many common sayings that we use today originated from his scripts.
Lovely illo too. Thanks.
I like the way you used texture to create forms and structure. I'm a big fan of your textures. Makes for nice negative space between the textures, gives the eyes space to rest. exellent.
Nice illo. and fascinating background of the word! I guess glamour really is all about magic. You have a nice way with blackline art. Thanks for posting on my blog!
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