The Many Meanings of 'Father.' How Watergate Changed English. Punim

880. "Father" as a word shows how we humans love to extend our metaphors. Did you know it was only relatively recently that priests were referred to as "father," for example? And then, for the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, we look at the "-gate" suffix and what made it so successful that it has spread all over the world (even to non-English-speaking countries).

Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/the-many-meanings-of-father-how-watergate-changed-english

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

| Sources for the "father" segment by Valerie Fridland

"father, n." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/68498?rskey=gVoRUz&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 05, 2022).

"pope, n.1." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/147798?rskey=d5Ttqw&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 06, 2022).

"thing, n.1." OED Online. March 2022. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/200786?rskey=dIOiJo&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed June 06, 2022).

Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). "Abbot." Britannica Academic. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/abbot/3248

Elder, Gregory. Nov. 15, 2007. Why do we call priests father? Redlands Daily

Facts. https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2007/11/15/why-are-priests-called-father/ (accessed June 06, 2022).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts

https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl

http://twitter.com/grammargirl

http://facebook.com/grammargirl

http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl

https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.