I happened to hear the word "histrionics" this morning. Why not "herstrionics?" Hey, if Romance languages can have masculine and feminine words, why not English?
Posted by Linkmeister at August 18, 2006 10:16 AM | TrackBackYou may joke, but I do know feminists who are deadly serious about "herstory" and so forth, not even recognizing that the root of "histoire" doesn't mean the same thing in French as it seems to in English given the spelling. I don't mind using "herstory" as a pun, but using it in PC seriousness betrays an astounding provincialism and lack of a basic grasp of word etymology.
Posted by: Elayne Riggs at August 19, 2006 05:59 AMFortunately I've managed to avoid those people for the most part, but I do know of the phenomenon; I've learned not to argue.
Posted by: Linkmeister at August 19, 2006 08:38 AMCould it be that the origin of histrionics is feminine...connected to hysteria which was taken from the Greek word hustera - "womb"? I'm not sure I'm just supposin'.
Posted by: Karan at August 19, 2006 09:06 AMThis site seems to think it's Latin in origin:
noun
1. Theatrical or dramatic behaviour expressing excessive emotion and insincerity.
Thesaurus: acting, showmanship, theatricality, affectation, deceit, pretension, overacting, staginess, ranting and raving.
Form: histrionics
Etymology: 17c: from Latin histrionicus, from histrio actor.
Posted by: Linkmeister at August 19, 2006 09:28 AMOK. I like this kind of stuff. Thanks for the link!
Posted by: Karan at August 19, 2006 02:20 PM