Difference between revisions of "Torment"
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**It means ‘to cause torment [noun]’, ‘to hurt [severely]’ | **It means ‘to cause torment [noun]’, ‘to hurt [severely]’ | ||
*The noun 'a '''torment'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> is stressed on the first syllable, 'TOR-ment' {{IPA|ˈtɔː<sup>r</sup> mɛnt}}. | *The noun 'a '''torment'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> is stressed on the first syllable, 'TOR-ment' {{IPA|ˈtɔː<sup>r</sup> mɛnt}}. | ||
| − | **It means ‘severe pain’, ‘terrible hurt’, or ([[archaic]]ally) ‘grievous hurt’. It was the word for the punishments | + | **It means ‘severe pain’, ‘terrible hurt’, or ([[archaic]]ally) ‘grievous hurt’. It was the word for the punishments imposed on sinners in hell, visualised as perpetual fire. |
| − | ::The [[etymological root|root]] of ‘torment’ is the same as that of [[torture]]: | + | ::The [[etymological root|root]] of ‘torment’ is the same as that of [[torture]]: the [[Latin]] [[verb]] ''torqueo'', ''torquēre'', ''torsi'', ''tortum'', 'to twist'. |
[[category:religion]] | [[category:religion]] | ||
{{sis}} | {{sis}} | ||
| + | [[Category:Word class confusion]] | ||
Latest revision as of 23:33, 27 October 2019
Torment can be either a noun or a verb. The pronunciation is different: the two words have different stresses.
- The verb 'to torment' is stressed on the second syllable, 'tor-MENT' IPA: /tɔːr ˈmɛnt/.
- It means ‘to cause torment [noun]’, ‘to hurt [severely]’
- The noun 'a torment' is stressed on the first syllable, 'TOR-ment' IPA: /ˈtɔːr mɛnt/.
- It means ‘severe pain’, ‘terrible hurt’, or (archaically) ‘grievous hurt’. It was the word for the punishments imposed on sinners in hell, visualised as perpetual fire.
Note
- This pattern of shifting stress in words that look identical but belong to two separate word classes is quite common in English.
- Quirk (1985) (Appendix I.56 B) describes the most common: "When verbs of two syllables are converted into nouns, the stress is sometimes shifted from the second to the first syllable. The first syllable, typically a Latin prefix, often has a reduced vowel /ə/ in the verb but a full vowel in the noun: He was con-VICT-ed (IPA: /kən ˈvɪkt ɪd/) of theft, and so became a CON vict (IPA: /ˈkɒn vɪkt/)" [AWE's rendition of IPA].
- There follows a list of some 57 "words having end-stress as verbs but initial stress as nouns in Br[itish] E[nglish]." Note that "in Am[erican] E[nglish], many have initial stress as verbs also". Quirk's list is the foundation of AWE's category:shift of stress. Additions have been made from, amongst others, Fowler, 1926-1996.
- Quirk (1985) (Appendix I.56 B) describes the most common: "When verbs of two syllables are converted into nouns, the stress is sometimes shifted from the second to the first syllable. The first syllable, typically a Latin prefix, often has a reduced vowel /ə/ in the verb but a full vowel in the noun: He was con-VICT-ed (IPA: /kən ˈvɪkt ɪd/) of theft, and so became a CON vict (IPA: /ˈkɒn vɪkt/)" [AWE's rendition of IPA].
- This pattern of shifting stress in words that look identical but belong to two separate word classes is quite common in English.
