5 ms·

yes, piqued. English, so weird! ;-) (Although, interest peaking is possible!)

by GeorgeTirebiter 2y ago

speed_spread 2y ago
> English, so weird Borrowed from just-as-weird French "piquer" - to stab or jab.
- teleforce 2y ago
  As other more than 30% of English words [1]: [1] Is English just badly pronounced French [video]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40495393 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40495393
  - funnybeam 2y ago
    No, French is badly pronounced French - the English (Norman) versions are often closer to the original pronunciation
    - inanutshellus 2y ago
      All this reminds me of the now-famous quote about English "borrowing" words... > The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. (quote swiped from https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll)
- bee_rider 2y ago
  It is kind of funny that both of the incorrect versions, peaked or peeked, sort of make more sense just based on the definitions of the individual words. “Peaked my interest” in particular could be interpreted as “reached the top of my interest.” Way better than stabbing my interest, in a French fashion or otherwise.
  - jhugo 2y ago
    Right, but that meaning isn’t quite right. To pique your interest is to arouse it, leaving open the possibility that you become even more interested, a possibility which peaking of your interest does not leave open.
    - digging 2y ago
      However, in the case where someone means "This interested me so much that I stopped what I was doing and looked up more information," peaked is almost more correct, depending on how one defines "interest" in this context (eg. "capacity for interest"? probably no; "current attention"? probably yes).
  - cstrahan 2y ago
    I think it makes more sense if you consider the expression "this tickles my fancy". Why do we use "tickle" there? Because a tickle is a type of stimulation, and "fancy" here means "interest", so one is effectively saying "this stimulates my interest". If we then consult Oxford Language's definition of pique, we find: > stimulate (interest or curiosity). "you have piqued my curiosity about the man" The word "piqued" in "this piqued my curiosity" serves as something along the lines of: stimulated, aroused, provoked This is aligned with the French word "piquer", as a "prick" or "sting" (much like a tickle) would stimulate/arouse/provoke.
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  > Borrowed from just-as-weird French "piquer" - to stab or jab. Literally «piquer» means “to sting” or “to prick” more than stab or jab, it's never used to describe inter-human aggression. And piquer is colloquially used to mean “to steal” (and it's probably the most common way of using it in French after describing mosquito bites) Edit: and I forgot to mention that we already use it for curiosity, in fact the sentence “it piqued my curiosity” was directly taken from French «ça a piqué ma curiosité».

yes, piqued. English, so weird! ;-) (Although, interest peaking is possible!)

speed_spread 2y ago

> English, so weird Borrowed from just-as-weird French "piquer" - to stab or jab.

teleforce 2y ago
As other more than 30% of English words [1]: [1] Is English just badly pronounced French [video]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40495393 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40495393
- funnybeam 2y ago
  No, French is badly pronounced French - the English (Norman) versions are often closer to the original pronunciation
  - inanutshellus 2y ago
    All this reminds me of the now-famous quote about English "borrowing" words... > The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. (quote swiped from https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll)
bee_rider 2y ago
It is kind of funny that both of the incorrect versions, peaked or peeked, sort of make more sense just based on the definitions of the individual words. “Peaked my interest” in particular could be interpreted as “reached the top of my interest.” Way better than stabbing my interest, in a French fashion or otherwise.
- jhugo 2y ago
  Right, but that meaning isn’t quite right. To pique your interest is to arouse it, leaving open the possibility that you become even more interested, a possibility which peaking of your interest does not leave open.
  - digging 2y ago
    However, in the case where someone means "This interested me so much that I stopped what I was doing and looked up more information," peaked is almost more correct, depending on how one defines "interest" in this context (eg. "capacity for interest"? probably no; "current attention"? probably yes).
- cstrahan 2y ago
  I think it makes more sense if you consider the expression "this tickles my fancy". Why do we use "tickle" there? Because a tickle is a type of stimulation, and "fancy" here means "interest", so one is effectively saying "this stimulates my interest". If we then consult Oxford Language's definition of pique, we find: > stimulate (interest or curiosity). "you have piqued my curiosity about the man" The word "piqued" in "this piqued my curiosity" serves as something along the lines of: stimulated, aroused, provoked This is aligned with the French word "piquer", as a "prick" or "sting" (much like a tickle) would stimulate/arouse/provoke.
littlestymaar 2y ago
> Borrowed from just-as-weird French "piquer" - to stab or jab. Literally «piquer» means “to sting” or “to prick” more than stab or jab, it's never used to describe inter-human aggression. And piquer is colloquially used to mean “to steal” (and it's probably the most common way of using it in French after describing mosquito bites) Edit: and I forgot to mention that we already use it for curiosity, in fact the sentence “it piqued my curiosity” was directly taken from French «ça a piqué ma curiosité».