Thanks!

Posted by Bruce Kahl on September 14, 2003

In Reply to: Vetted? posted by Bob on September 14, 2003

: : : "Blair soon announced he was seeking a book deal, but several New York publishers said they were not interested. Viner said yesterday he was not concerned about the reliability of Blair's memoir. "He is very anxious that the book be well vetted, as are we," Viner said."

: : : Vetted?
: : : Webster says it means:"subject to expert appraisal or correction".
: : : I never heard of this word. What is the history of this word?
: : : Is it the same type of word as "comped"--from complimentary?

: : From Merriam-Webster online at www.merriam-webster.com/
: : Main Entry: 2vet
: : Function: transitive verb
: : Inflected Form(s): vet.ted; vet.ting
: : Date: 1891
: : 1 a : to provide veterinary care for (an animal) or medical care for (a person) b : to subject (a person or animal) to a physical examination or checkup
: : 2 : to subject to expert appraisal or correction : EVALUATE
: : - vet.ter noun

: : Another reference says "vet" as: "The sense of subject to careful examination, scrutinize, evaluate, is first recorded in 1904." From The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology by Robert K. Barnhart (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995).

: Think "fact-checked"

I thank you both.

I was born in the first half of the 20th century and have never ever heard of this word until this week--once in print and once on TV.

Checking the romances shows nothing. I checked the slavics which was dumb since they are really romantic. I found the Italian/Old French "corvetta" from "courber" from the L**in "curvre" (to curve) but I think that is the wrong alley.

Then there is "curvet" which is a leap or a vault by a horse. Another dead end street down the wrong alley.

A whole slew of words have become popularized by Georgie Stupid Head's administration--embed, chatter etc--so maybe this is another one of them.

• Thanks! R. Berg 15/September/03