Klarinet Archive - Posting 000664.txt from 1995/06

From: Doug Cook <cook@-----.COM>
Subj: OK, let's put this "Glissando" spelling thing to rest...
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 1995 04:45:40 -0400

I'll agree that it is common for Americans to misuse the English language.
However, in this case, let us not hastily conclude what is and isn't
correct (or what is or isn't an Americanism). A little research
unearthed some surprising conclusions.

All this mayhem regarding the correct pluralization of "glissando" and
"octopus" got me curious about the etymology and pluralization of these
words.

So I looked them up in the Oxford English Dictionary. (If you haven't had
a chance to pore through an OED, I highly recommend it. It is considered
the definitive work on the English language and many of its dialects; the
latest version has over 21,000 pages of definitions, including extensive
etymology and historical citations. If you're a word-addict like me, it's a
great fix).

Here's the scoop (I summarize except where I provide direct citations):

Glissando.
----------

I would have thought the origin Italian, but according to the OED, it
is italianized French. (From glissant, the gerund/pres ppl. of glisser,
to slide; no surprise there). The correct plurals are both "glissandi" and
"glissandos." The bulk of the citations actually use the latter spelling:
1924. Living Age (18 Oct). "The trombone whose glissandos are
becoming a favorite."

1931. G. JACOB. _Orchestral_Technique_, vii. 76 "Harp glissandos
are frequently used."

1970. R. SMITH BRINDLE. _Contemporary_Percussion_ vi. 32
"Sometimes glissandos are written out in full, but it is much more
usual to indicate the first and last notes played, and connect them
by a straight or wavy line."

The only reference to a CLARINET glissando, however, uses the former
spelling:

1958. J ALDAM in P. Gammond _Duke_Ellington_ III. 200 "One of the
greatest New Orleans clarinettists ... he [Barney Bigard] plays
with a warm, vocalized tone, full of inflections and long
glissandi."

Octopus.
--------

Surprise! The correct plural, unanglicized, is "octopodes." (pronounced
with a long "e"). I kid you not. The anglicized plural is "octopuses." The
reason for this is that the origin is ancient Greek by way of modern Latin.
Some choice selections from the manifold citations:

1758. BAKER in _Phil._Trans._L._ 778 "The Polypus, particularly
so called, the Octopus, Preke, or Pour-contrel."

1884. H. M. LEATHES _Rough_Notes_Nat._Hist._ 46 "Saying that
enormous octopuses existed on the western side of Panama, in the
Pacific Ocean."

-Doug

Doug Cook, cook@-----.

"Slab and Esther, uncomfortable with each other, stood in front of an easel in
his place, looking at Cheese Danish #35. The cheese danish was a recent
obsession of Slab's. He had taken some time ago to painting in a frenzy these
morning-pastries in every conceivable style, light, and setting. The room was
already littered with Cubist, Fauve, and Surrealist cheese Danishes. 'Monet
spent his declining years at his home in Giverny, painting the water lilies in
the garden pool,' reasoned Slab.'He painted all kinds of water lilies. He liked
water lilies. These are my declining years. I like cheese Danishes, they have
kept me alive now for longer than I can remember. Why not.'" -Thomas Pynchon