Conversation

There once was a man so perverse
He would never stop talking for better or verse
Unlike a worm
That can wriggle and squirm
He didn’t know how to converse.
 
The words conversation and converse have their origins in Proto-Indo-European (PIE) wer-2 (to bend, to turn), Latin vertere (to turn), and Latin versus (a verse, a turning). PIE wer-2 is also the source of the word worm and the Old English word wyrm (dragon).
 
In the ancient Latin speaking world, versus meant how the verses in a poem turned in relation to one another. In particular, in the epic poems of antiquity, verses reflected the natural rhythms of the language, indicating where one person stopped talking and another person began, or when one action or description ended and another began. The ways in which a poet or speaker versed (or spoke) the poem helped the listeners to hear and to remember the story.
 
When two poets or two people talked, they had a comvertere (a turning together, a conversation); from Latin com (together) + vertere (to turn). Sometimes, when people talked or conversed, a person could change their mind about something. A conversation could result in a convertere (a conversion).
 
In classical Latin, the word conversen also meant to live with, to keep company with; i.e., people’s lives ‘turned around’ each other. Latin conversari meant to dwell. Latin conversationem meant frequent use or abode in a place, and intercourse, as well as conversation.
 
From these Latin sources came Old French conversation, medieval English conversacioun, and, in the mid-14th century, the English word conversation. At that time, the word conversation could mean the place where one dwelt, or a general course of actions or habits, or a manner of conducting oneself in the world. These uses of the word are now obsolete.
 
However, traces of these old meanings can be seen in later terms such as ‘criminal conversation’ (a legal term for adultery) from the 18th century. Before that, from at least the 14th century, the word conversation was a synonym for sexual intercourse. (I can see a cartoon. A person is talking with their obviously angry and upset partner. “But we were just talking,” says the person).
 
The current use of the word conversation to mean an informal interchange of thoughts and sentiments by spoken words is from the 1570s. Etymologically, a conversation is not the same as a dialogue or a discussion. But that’s another story.
 
Perhaps, when considering the origins of the word conversation, it would seem that a good conversation is one in which each person builds upon what the other has just said. The conversation turns back and forth between (or among) them. It could be said that good conversation begins to have a life of its own. A good conversation is as much about listening as it is about talking. And, let us not forget that talking, real talking, can sometimes be as intimate as touching.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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