How to Get Ahead – the Latin Roots of Anticipation

Hello,

As the old 1940s slogan goes – “if you want to get ahead, get a hat”. I was bemoaning the demise of widespread hat wearing last week at my writers’ group, was sketching elegant 1930s hats at pen&ink class a few days later, and now I find myself discovering how anticipation is all about the head, if not the hat.

Wordfoolery’s Hat, of course

Why anticipation? Well, it’s October and regular Wordfoolery readers will know that I mentor the Ireland North East region in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) each November. Hosting writing sessions, launch Kick Off, and a Thank Goodness it’s Over party doesn’t happen without some advance planning so October is a busy month for me. While encouraging writers in my area to pen 50,000 words in 30 days I also participate myself and October is doubly busy because I’m planning my own book-writing too.

All of which puts me in an anticipatory mood, but where do we get the word anticipation and what exactly does it mean?

I use anticipation to mean that feeling of looking forward to something in a positive sense but it has wider uses. You can anticipate by taking action in advance e.g. provide extra security in anticipation of large rowdy crowds. You can anticipate by using money before you’ve received it ( not very prudent). It’s also a musical term related to dissonance.

Anticipation entered English in the late 1300s but it was the 1800s before we associated it with a “looking forward to” meaning. Its original meaning was foreshadowing and it was formed from Latin by joining ant (front or forehead and hence the idea of being in front of or before) with capere (to take). The two together give us anticipare – to take care of something ahead of time or to take possession of something beforehand.

By the 1500s anticipation was about doing something before somebody else and then, as I mentioned earlier, by the 1800s we were anticipating by thinking in advance instead of doing or taking in advance. I suppose what this teaches me about my NaNoWriMo prep month is that I shouldn’t just think about my preparations, I should also take action. Wise words.

As for getting ahead with a hat, well, the whole ant thing was about getting your forehead out in front, a hat can really help with that, so perhaps the slogan was right? I’ll have to don my Wordfoolery jester’s hat while writing this month.

Until next time happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,

Grace (@Wordfoolery)