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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Sickening
"An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and federal health officials said on Thursday." I would never have used "sickened" in that sentence. Insofar as I use the word at all I use it to mean "disgusted". How natural does it appear to AmE speakers? In BrE I'd say "made ill", but "made sick" would seem normal to me in AmE.  Signatureathel > "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has > sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > to AmE speakers? In BrE I'd say "made ill", but "made sick" would seem > normal to me in AmE. It doesn't sound quite right to me, either. It does conjure up a vision of people being disgusted by the mumps. I can't think what the normal phrase would be, although surely I've read it. Perhaps it was something like "More than 1,500 cases of mumps have been reported in..." or "The mumps outbreak that started in a summer camp last June has now spread to more than 1,500 people..." SignatureCheryl Athel Cornish-Bowden: >> "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has >> sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and >> federal health officials said on Thursday." >> >> I would never have used "sickened" in that sentence. Insofar as I use >> the word at all I use it to mean "disgusted". ... Cheryl Perkins: > It doesn't sound quite right to me, either. It does conjure up a vision > of people being disgusted by the mumps. It's not in my active vocabulary either -- I'd probably say that 1,500 people "have gotten sick" or "have fallen ill", rather than using a transitive verb at all. But it is a standard usage in the news media and has been for decades. I just did a quick Google News Archive Search for "sickened" together with any of "epidemic", "outbreak", or "disease", and found a bunch of examples of the usage back to 1962. (There were earlier hits as well, but all the ones it showed as samples were the intransitive "sickened" meaning "got sick"; this also is not in my active vocabulary.) SignatureMark Brader "Tell me how you love her, Will." Toronto "Like a sickness and its cure together." msb@vex.net -- "Shakespeare in Love"; is there an earlier source? My text in this article is in the public domain. Mark Brader filted: >Athel Cornish-Bowden: >>> "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >samples were the intransitive "sickened" meaning "got sick"; this >also is not in my active vocabulary.) Aha! The plotz sickens!...r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > Athel Cornish-Bowden: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > using a transitive verb at all. But it is a standard usage in the > news media and has been for decades. I agree. It's the meaning 3 here: --- sick·en transitive verb 1 : to make sick : DISEASE, NAUSEATE <the fogs have settled ... thousands of persons have been sickened -- New York Times> 2 a : to cause revulsion as a result of weariness or satiety <the growing pile of cakes on the scrubbed table sickened him -- John Morrison> b : to make nauseated or faint from some strong feeling (as fear, disgust, envy) <feel more sickened than stimulated by the public admiration -- T.E.Lawrence> <others, sickened by conditions under which they lived -- Sinclair Lewis> <sickened by the sight of blood> 3 : to make sickly : IMPAIR, WEAKEN, IMPOVERISH <land sickened by overgrazing> M-W U --- Marius Hancu > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: > > [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > M-W U > --- Sorry, I think it is number 1, not 3. The outbreak made people sick (ill), it didn't make them "sickly" (weak). The New York Times example is in the passive voice which complicates matters. "People have been sickened by the fogs" equals "The fogs sickened the people." Grammatically okay, apparently, if not commonly said. I found the same use as the original quotation by searching the Web for "outbreak * sickened." There were lots of results, such as: - Salmonella Outbreak: 388 Sickened Across U.S - An E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened dozens of people who - Another outbreak, which sickened 16 people in North Carolina - after the nation's largest E.coli outbreak which sickened 206 people - A Norovirus outbreak has sickened approximately 123 people who There doesn't seem to be a one-word alternative. "Infected" and "affected" may not fit. SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux > > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: > [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > There doesn't seem to be a one-word alternative. "Infected" and > "affected" may not fit. In this instance, mumps, being a viral infection, the term "infected" (as in 1500 individuals were infected) seems to be OK, whereas "affected" would not on account of the high probability that non-infected people would have been "affected" too. >> > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: >> [quoted text clipped - 65 lines] > In this instance, mumps, being a viral infection, the term "infected" > (as in 1500 individuals were infected) seems to be OK, One could readily pick the nit that people can be infected without becoming ill. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) On Feb 15, 10:56 pm, Roland Hutchinson <my.spamt...@verizon.net> wrote: > >> > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: > [quoted text clipped - 68 lines] > One could readily pick the nit that people can be infected without > becoming ill. Hmm, true. And it would be the same problem with; "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has caught (out) more than 1,500 people ..." The "sickened ones" been exposed by their symptoms as opposed to asymptomatic; Perhaps we can invent a word based on the word "symptom" "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has symptomaticed more than 1,500 people ..." "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has symptomaticised more than 1,500 people ..." Or adopt a variant on symptom so that it's possible to adjust such a sentence to "State and federal health officials said on Thursday that more than 1500 people in in New York and New Jersey have symptomed / symptomatitcated the mumps since an outbreak started in a summer camp last June (-: > Perhaps we can invent a word based on the word "symptom" > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > symptomatitcated the mumps since an outbreak started in a summer camp > last June I will not change my old mumpsimus for your new symptomus. SignatureJames > > Perhaps we can invent a word based on the word "symptom" > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > I will not change my old mumpsimus for your new symptomus. I am reminded of horrible adverts for a fizzy drink and it featured the phrase "you have been tango'd" Oddly, apart from "sickened" lots of other medical related terminology can't be shortened like sickened, or diseased; I mean, one wouldn't ordinarily say 1500 people were mump'd >>> Perhaps we can invent a word based on the word "symptom" >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > can't be shortened like sickened, or diseased; > I mean, one wouldn't ordinarily say 1500 people were mump'd Interesting approach, though: "I mump, thou mumpest, he/she/it mumps, we/you/they mump", with a weak past "mumped". "I measle...they measled." And in a world in which an athlete aims to medal, why not "he fevered"? I'm not too clear how this method would deal with chicken-pox or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though. SignatureMike. On Feb 16, 8:26 am, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> wrote: > I'm not too clear how this method would deal with chicken-pox or > non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though. I chicken pock, thou chicken pockest, he/she/it chicken pox.... > On Feb 16, 8:26 am, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> > wrote: >> I'm not too clear how this method would deal with chicken-pox or >> non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though. > > I chicken pock, thou chicken pockest, he/she/it chicken pox.... Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a bit harder, and can probably only be conjugated in the negative. Nine years ago I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukaemia (I got better). At the time I was in a group of people who met once a week to play Celtic music just for fun. For our rare public appearances we needed a name, so one suggestion was Luke Hemia and the Hairy Cells. SignatureJames James Hogg filted: >Nine years ago I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukaemia (I got better). >At the time I was in a group of people who met once a week to play >Celtic music just for fun. For our rare public appearances we needed a >name, so one suggestion was Luke Hemia and the Hairy Cells. You should send that in to "Car Talk" for inclusion in their closing credits....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > James Hogg filted: >> Nine years ago I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukaemia (I got better). [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > You should send that in to "Car Talk" for inclusion in their closing > credits....r For those of you who have no idea what Ron's talking about (as I didn't until a few minutes ago), some examples are: Arbitration Expert Viola Fuss Bob Dylan Specialist I. Shelby Released Director of Long-Range Strategic Planning Kay Sera Tailor Euripedes Imenedes Telephone Solicitor, Paris Office Henri Lenting Windshield Wiper Replacement Team Ike and Zeke Leerly Bad Joke Interpreter Nadia Geddit There's a full list here (18-page printout): http://www.cartalk.com/content/about/credits/credits.html SignatureJames James Hogg filted: >> James Hogg filted: >>> Nine years ago I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukaemia (I got better). [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >http://www.cartalk.com/content/about/credits/credits.html Long-time AUEers may remember when I mentioned their "Rock and Roll Historian" Bruce Wade Hughes....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > James Hogg filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >>Arbitration Expert Viola Fuss >>Bob Dylan Specialist I. Shelby Released Director of Long-Range Strategic >>Planning Kay Sera Tailor Euripedes Imenedes >>Telephone Solicitor, Paris Office Henri Lenting Windshield Wiper >>Replacement Team Ike and Zeke Leerly Bad Joke Interpreter Nadia Geddit >>There's a full list here (18-page printout): >> >>http://www.cartalk.com/content/about/credits/credits.html > > Long-time AUEers may remember when I mentioned their "Rock and Roll > Historian" Bruce Wade Hughes....r I see on the site that Bela Cartok has apparently been given a lateral promotion from Automusicologist to Staff Composer. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> You should send that in to "Car Talk" for inclusion in their closing >> credits....r > >For those of you who have no idea what Ron's talking about (as I didn't >until a few minutes ago) [snip] Welcome to the wonderful world of Car Talk! To this Brit's ears, it's possibly the best of current US radio, and it's online at http://www.cartalk.com/ (Think they'll send me a free Car Talk Gift now?) SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ aquachimp filted: >> >> > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >"An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has >symptomaticised more than 1,500 people ..." I'm still waiting for the follow-on report that says the number of people diagnosed with mumps has now swollen to over two thousand....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > aquachimp filted: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > I'm still waiting for the follow-on report that says the number of people > diagnosed with mumps has now swollen to over two thousand....r Ah, I do believe you've cracked it; The number of diagnosed cases of the mumps relating to a summer camp outbreak last June has now swollen to more than 1500 people... > > > Athel Cornish-Bowden: > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > Sorry, I think it is number 1, not 3. The outbreak made people sick > (ill), it didn't make them "sickly" (weak). I think it's both: 1: DISEASE, but _not_ NAUSEATE 3: IMPAIR, WEAKEN Marius Hancu Athel Cornish-Bowden (asked about...): >>>>>> "An outbreak of mumps... has sickened more than 1,500 people..." Mark Brader: >>>> ...it is a standard usage in the news media... Marius Hancu: >>> I agree. It's the meaning 3 here: >> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >>> M-W U >>> --- Donna Richoux: >> Sorry, I think it is number 1, not 3. The outbreak made people sick >> (ill), it didn't make them "sickly" (weak). Marius Hancu: > I think it's both: No, Donna's right. > 1: DISEASE, but _not_ NAUSEATE > 3: IMPAIR, WEAKEN I think you're misinpreting those words -- how does the front of the dictionary say they should be understood? Sense 3 doesn't necessarily involve impoverishment and sense 1, the one here, doesn't necessarily involve nausea. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto But that's what all the other msb@vex.net individualists are doing! My text in this article is in the public domain. >> "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has >> sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >It doesn't sound quite right to me, either. It does conjure up a vision >of people being disgusted by the mumps. Yes, that's what it sounds like to me. "sickened", past tense, means disgusted. But "sickening" continuous can refer to the onset of a disease. "I wasn't feeling too well on Monday, I was sickening for mumps" SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk > But "sickening" continuous can refer to the onset of a disease. "I wasn't > feeling too well on Monday, I was sickening for mumps" Interesting. The idiom around here is "I was coming down with the mumps." "Sickening" would relate to the effect I had on others in a "disgusting" sort of way. --Jeff SignatureLove consists of overestimating the differences between one woman and another. --George Bernard Shaw >>> "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has >>> sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > But "sickening" continuous can refer to the onset of a disease. "I wasn't > feeling too well on Monday, I was sickening for mumps" The verb in its present tense crops up in the first lines of Twelfth Night: If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. SignatureDavid > "An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has > sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and > federal health officials said on Thursday." > > I would never have used "sickened" in that sentence. Insofar as I use > the word at all I use it to mean "disgusted". A figurative use of the word, whose literal usage in the quoted sentence sounds OK to me. > How natural does it > appear to AmE speakers? In BrE I'd say "made ill", but "made sick" > would seem normal to me in AmE. SignatureJohn Varela Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email > On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:26:37 UTC, Athel Cornish-Bowden > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > John Varela > Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email In the West Riding "made ill" would be a very alien construction. However we would use the term "sicknote" to describe the doctor's note that enabled one to absent oneself from ones regular employment and claim "sickpay" (welfare) as these are nationally used expressions. But we would understand sickened to mean disgusted. "Being sick" would mean that one was vomiting: "he was sick last night" would mean that he "threw up" or "spilled his guts". We would use the word "poorly" rather than "ill" or "sick". > On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:26:37 UTC, Athel Cornish-Bowden > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > A figurative use of the word, whose literal usage in the quoted > sentence sounds OK to me. Sound OK for me too, though I might have opted for "infected" > > How natural does it > > appear to AmE speakers? In BrE I'd say "made ill", but "made sick" [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > John Varela > Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email |
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