Difference between revisions of "Tout"

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'''Tout''' has rwo [[homograph]]s.
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'''Tout''' has two [[homograph]]s.
*The traditional English word, dating as a [[verb]] from the fifteenth century and as a [[noun]] from the eighteenth, is pronounced like'out': 'towt', {{IPA|taʊt}}. Its central meaning is of a disreputable occupation.
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*The traditional English word, dating as a [[verb]] from the fifteenth century and as a [[noun]] from the eighteenth, is pronounced like 'out': 'towt', {{IPA|taʊt}}. Its central meaning is of a disreputable occupation.
 
**''[[OED]]'' (2020) first records the [[verb]] as meaning "To peep, peer, look out; to gaze". From that, it came to be an underworld term ("''thieves' cant''") for 'to be on the look-out;', 'to watch [for]'. This developed into 'to watch' or 'to spy on'.
 
**''[[OED]]'' (2020) first records the [[verb]] as meaning "To peep, peer, look out; to gaze". From that, it came to be an underworld term ("''thieves' cant''") for 'to be on the look-out;', 'to watch [for]'. This developed into 'to watch' or 'to spy on'.
***Specificaly, this was used for 'to watch, or spy on, racehorses [and their stables, etc.]'; to gain illicit information for betting'. '''Touts''' often sold this information at and around racecourses.  
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***Specifically, this was used for 'to watch, or spy on, racehorses [and their stables, etc.]'; to gain illicit information for betting'. '''Touts''' often sold this information at and around racecourses.
**From selling information, '''touts''' sometimes '''tout for''' custom
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**Their habit of praising a given horse exravagantly may lie behind the meaning 'to praise excessively', 'to promote', 'recommend' or 'talk up' iin commercial contexts other than racing ([[Merriam-Webster]], 2020).
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**From selling information, '''touts''' sometimes '''tout for''' custom, that is importune or solicit (often in a disreputable way, for customers. In the New World, this can extend to soliciting votes in an election.
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*A '''ticket tout''' (in informal American English, a 'scalper') is someone who attempts to resell tickets, often illicitly acquired, for prices higher than those printed on them.
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*The second '''tout''' is a French word acclimatized into English. It is pronounced in the French way, 'too', {{IPA|tuː}}, and with the final '-t' realized before a [[vowel]], as in ''tout ensemble'', /tuːt ɒn ˈsɒm blə (''or, more anglicized,'' b<sup>ə</sup>l). The feminine form is written ''toute'' /tuːt /, with a plural ''toutes'' /tuːt/; the masculine and common plural is ''tous'' /tuː/. The basic meaning of all these forms is 'all', or 'every'; as an [[adverb]], it can be a form of emphatic [[intensifier]], 'very' or 'completely'. Some phrases are idiomatic in academic English, such as ''[[tout court]]'', ''[[tout simple]]'', ''[[en tout cas]]'', ''[[tout compris]]'', ''[[tout le monde]]'', ''[[tout de suite]]'' and ''[[le tout Paris]]''.
  
 
 
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[[Category:pronunciation]]
 
[[Category:pronunciation]]
 
[[Category:French words]]
 
[[Category:French words]]
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[[Category:slang]]
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[[Category:AmE]]

Revision as of 15:55, 17 October 2020

Tout has two homographs.

  • The traditional English word, dating as a verb from the fifteenth century and as a noun from the eighteenth, is pronounced like 'out': 'towt', IPA: /taʊt/. Its central meaning is of a disreputable occupation.
    • OED (2020) first records the verb as meaning "To peep, peer, look out; to gaze". From that, it came to be an underworld term ("thieves' cant") for 'to be on the look-out;', 'to watch [for]'. This developed into 'to watch' or 'to spy on'.
      • Specifically, this was used for 'to watch, or spy on, racehorses [and their stables, etc.]'; to gain illicit information for betting'. Touts often sold this information at and around racecourses.
    • Their habit of praising a given horse exravagantly may lie behind the meaning 'to praise excessively', 'to promote', 'recommend' or 'talk up' iin commercial contexts other than racing (Merriam-Webster, 2020).
    • From selling information, touts sometimes tout for custom, that is importune or solicit (often in a disreputable way, for customers. In the New World, this can extend to soliciting votes in an election.
  • A ticket tout (in informal American English, a 'scalper') is someone who attempts to resell tickets, often illicitly acquired, for prices higher than those printed on them.
  • The second tout is a French word acclimatized into English. It is pronounced in the French way, 'too', IPA: /tuː/, and with the final '-t' realized before a vowel, as in tout ensemble, /tuːt ɒn ˈsɒm blə (or, more anglicized, bəl). The feminine form is written toute /tuːt /, with a plural toutes /tuːt/; the masculine and common plural is tous /tuː/. The basic meaning of all these forms is 'all', or 'every'; as an adverb, it can be a form of emphatic intensifier, 'very' or 'completely'. Some phrases are idiomatic in academic English, such as tout court, tout simple, en tout cas, tout compris, tout le monde, tout de suite and le tout Paris.