Reduplication Redux
The term reduplication
fascinates me. Wouldn’t the term duplication do the job? I love the fact that a
redundant-sounding word is used to signify redundancy. According to Merriam Webster, reduplication is an act or instance of
doubling or reiterating. Last week’s post covered a few reduplications & this week’s post
will cover a few more.
Last
week, Rachel6 of Sesquipedalian Dreamer wondered about the word froufrou
(or frou-frou). Though etymologists aren’t certain, it’s likely that frou-frou
is a reduplication of the rustling sound of a dress. It came to English in 1870
from French. Froufrou’s meaning today
is fussy details, though Rachel6’s
mother & many folks I know use the word froufrou to refer to
knick-knacks or frilly decorations.
Which
brings us to knick-knack, a varied reduplication of knack, as in, “he’s got a
knack
for machines.” Knick-knack’s primary meaning is a pretty trick or subterfuge, which came to English in 1618. By
1682, knick-knack had picked up the secondary meaning, a curious or pleasing trifle more ornamental
than useful.
A
related reduplication is the term chichi or chi-chi, which arrived
from France in 1908, carrying two meanings: sophisticated,
& pretentious fussiness.
Bye-bye is also a reduplication. It started in 1630 as a sound used to lull a child to sleep. By 1709 its similarity to good-bye
rubbed off on its meaning.
Jibber-jabber is a varied reduplication of jabber, & showed up in 1728
meaning to talk gibberish.
Pee-wee is most likely a varied reduplication of wee, meaning little. It came to English in 1848 to describe a small marble, & by 1877 became a
bit more generalized, meaning for
children, small, or tiny.
Etymologists
are pretty sure humdrum is a varied reduplication of hum, the sound one might
make upon experience tedium, which explains why it means tedious or monotonous. Humdrum entered the language in the
1550s.
Hip hop is a varied reduplication most of us might guess came to English
recently. Surprisingly, Hip hop was in use to mean a successive hopping motion as early as
the 1670s. To denote the popular music style, hip hop was first used in
1982.
Boogie-woogie is another music-related varied reduplication. Its earliest ancestor
appears to have shown up in 1912 as boogie-boo. By 1917 a rent party was referred to as a boogie,
& by 1928 that blues style & the term to describe it, boogie-woogie
was born.
To
finish up our look at reduplication, we’ll consider
Christine of View from an Independent
Bookstore’s
suggestion. So so (or so-so) came to English in 1520, meaning in an indifferent, mediocre, or passable
manner or degree. And to make so-so even more so, in 1835 someone
unveiled so-soish (I kid you not), meaning somewhat so-so, or rather indifferent. Apparently, so-so
wasn’t indecisive enough as it stood, so it needed an indecisive ending.
In
this week’s comments, I’d love to see sentences including as many of the bold
words above as possible.