A few days ago, the wife asked if I was well. Wondered because =
I look a little peaked. Of course, this got me wandering the ‘net loo=
king at that word. Found that Kelly Kazek shared ideas a few years ag=
o on why many say ‘peak-ed’ with two syllables got my attention=
=2E Credit her for this information.
&n=
bsp;
There are words that LOOK like one syllable =
but are PRONOUNCED in two (or three) syllables. These include "aged,&q=
uot; "learned," "naked," "ragged," "rugg=
ed," "sacred," or "supposed."
As a pastor =
I have often used the more elegiac "beloved," "blessed,"=
; "accursed" and "winged," (in my most sonorous tones) =
and I’m not even from the South. I know, How "wretched&quo=
t; of me.
Have you ever felt sick, and someone said, "You look a little peak=
ed?" This kind of "peaked" means looking ill, pronounced wit=
h two syllables: peek-id.
We are NOT talking about when your interest is "pe=
aked". That was the word play of the title "pique" which is =
a homonym meaning both to "irritate" and to "stimulate"=
interest.
Noun: "peak" =3D pointed tip of a mountain or object
Verb: “peak” =3D high point of activity=
So ho=
w does this mean looking sickly? Simply because in a sickly-looking person =
their illness frequently causes weight loss and a haggard, wasted appearanc=
e resulting in ‘sharp’ (i.e., bony) facial features, making the nose, chin,=
etc., appear to end in sharp points.
&=
nbsp;
I will add that aging, lack of proper nutri=
tion, or sleeplessness (all of which I possess in abundance) may also=
lead to a ‘peaked’ appearance. Hence why I eat so much, lest people think =
I’m ill.
I agree with Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the first English use of peak =
this way, “Weary sev’n nights nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak=
and pine.”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
"Jesus Knows Me, This =
I Love!"