the word "fetch"?
I've long been fascinated by the way language changes. Just how exactly do words come into fashion or go out of fashion?
I'm sure my mother used to fetch me from school, and ask me to fetch something from the kitchen for her. I used the word the other day, and it sounded old-fashioned. Archaic, almost.
Interestingly, I noticed that in America, children are only ever "picked up" from school, and never "collected". I wonder how it sounded to American ears when I (in my early days) talked about "collecting" my children from school. Did I occasionally even talk about "fetching" them? The other mums probably waited till I left the room, and then laughed to each other about how Shakespearean I sounded. "It's so DARLING!" they'd have said.
But back to "fetch"... I also wonder what happened to the word "fetching". I'm sure that word used to be used to mean "charming". Perhaps it was my grandmother rather than my mother, but I definitely remember outfits and appearances being described as "rather fetching".
Poor old "fetch". You've been pushed aside and demoted. Now you're just something I shout vainly at my dog as I throw a ball.
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you're right, I'm running through my head now all the words I use instead and I can't remember the last time I used fetch. I think I use get instead. That's probably very bad grammer.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've heard the phrase "fetch up" recently but I'm buggered if I can remember where. I think "fetch" is used sometimes in the south in the USA but it's probably as old as it is in England. I do remember, growing up on Tyneside, that people would "fetch the door" when someone knocked at it. A fairly weird mental image really.
ReplyDeleteWe've been using 'fetch' quite a lot lately, as we've got a 14-week-old puppy in the house who we spend a lot of time trying to tire out. MrL uses it occasionally, and I know I hear 'fetch' a lot more when I'm around his family, who are from the Deep South. The older ones also (charmingly) use 'carry' to mean 'take' or 'give a ride to,' as in, "Uncle Joe carried me to the Piggly-Wiggly to do my shopping."
ReplyDeleteI still know people who use the word "fetching" but it does sound quite old fashioned. You do have an ear for language - what about a book on "whatever happened to...?"
ReplyDeleteLovely epitaph for Fetch, Iota. Well said, Nappy Valley Girl, a book about "whatever happened to..." is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteLove this post. I hadn't thought about it but I guess I tend to say 'Can you get me that' rather than 'Can you fetch me that'. I also get the kids from school but I do occasionally say fetch. And as for someone being rather fetching, I think there are certain people it still applies to - you just don't hear it said out loud anymore. Which is a crying shame. I shall henceforth use it more often.
ReplyDeleteMy mum still uses 'fetching' to mean that an outfit looks quite nice. I think I used to go and 'fetch' things, but I can't remember when I last used it.
ReplyDeleteYr book could be a trans-pond one - called Fetch and Carry perhaps...?
ReplyDeleteJ'ph x