Are you gruntled?
My teenager asked me yesterday what the definition of disgruntled was. I deftly replied: displeased or dissatisfied. I was less smug when he asked what gruntled meant.
I didn’t know whether it was a word, but I assumed that gruntled was disgruntled’s antonym — in most cases the ‘dis’ prefix adds a negative element to a word — therefore, gruntled should mean pleased or satisfied.
Never guess with a teenager. They have iPhones.
While I drove, Mr Fourteen swiftly turned to Google and advised me that gruntled existed ‘once upon a time’ but it probably wasn’t an antonym of disgruntled. ‘Mum, there are two theories and neither match your guess. Back in the 1600s, gruntled was the root word meaning “grumbling”, but it was used as the verb “gruntling”. And the “dis” is an intensifier meaning “utterly” or “completely” grumbling. Disgruntling was a verb back then too.’
‘Second theory, mum, is that some dictionaries believe “gruntled” is a back-formation that people created to pair with “disgruntled”. The Oxford Dictionary reckons it was the 1930s and others say a bit earlier.’
We then threw some words back and forth from driver’s seat to passenger, trying to think of funny words that don’t have a prefix or suffix. Lucky I have a budding word nerd. We laughed at my favourite and overused expression, ‘underwhelmed’. When have I ever been ‘whelmed’? Then Mr Fourteen asked whether I was feeling ‘ruth’? Aside from the LOL (and intended double entendre) driving moment, I agreed that I may occasionally feel ‘ruthless’, but didn’t know if I felt ‘ruth’. We wondered about my mum — dear grandma — who finds many things nonsensical. Does she find others ‘sensical’?
So, dear editors and fellow word nerds, I thought I’d share with you our top 10 favourite ‘affix-less’ (my neologism) words that exist currently. Without their affix, the base (or unpaired) words are considered archaic, or never had a pair to begin with (in the case of borrowed/loan words).
I had lots of fun discussing these ‘affix-less’ words with my word-loving offspring. It made me realise how easily present-day words roll off my tongue, as do common paired words: disagree/agree, strong/strongest, kind/kindness. Have a go at reciting these lonely unpaired words. Hopefully you get some LOL moments too.
Karina Smith
Editors Victoria Communications Sub-Committee