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 word conversation has its origins in the PIE root wer-2 (to bend, to turn)1 and Latin vertere (to turn) and versus (a verse, a turning).
In ancient Latin, versus meant how the verses in a poem turned in relation to one another.2 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 way in which a poet or speaker versed (or spoke) the poem helped the listeners to hear 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).3 Sometimes, when people talked or conversed, a person could change their mind about something. A conversation could result in a convertere (a conversion).
Also, in classical Latin, the word conversen meant to live with, to keep company with; that is, people’s lives ‘turned around’ each other. Latin conversari meant to live, to dwell. Latin conversationem meant frequent use, frequent abode in a place, intercourse, and conversation.
From these Latin sources came Old French conversation, medieval English conversacioun, and, in the mid-14th century, the English word conversation appears. 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.4
The term ‘conversation piece’ (a painting representing a group of figures arranged as if in conversation) is from 1712. ‘Conversation piece’ meaning a topic for conversation from 1784.
The current use of the word conversation to mean an informal interchange of thoughts and sentiments by spoken words is from the 1570s.
To conclude, what makes a good conversation? Have you ever been talking with someone and had the impression that the person is just waiting for you to stop talking so that they can get on with whatever it is that they wanted to say? Have you ever been talking with a group of people who interrupt each other in order to go off on completely different topics? Have you ever been in a social situation in which the social chit chat seems simply a string of disconnected bits of information? Such talking together can function as social glue and may interesting and useful. But is it conversation?
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 is when the 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.
In brief, the words conversation, dialogue, and discussion often tend to be used synonyms for the activity of people talking with one another. However, to differentiate these words: conversation is usually an informal or casual turning back and forth of talk among people, dialogue tends to be a more formal or process-oriented exchange of ideas, and discussion is more like a debate or an argument.
1 PIE wer-2 is also the source of the words worm and vermin. The Old English word wyrm, meaning dragon, is also from this PIE source.
2 Today the word versus (abbreviated vs or simply v.) means something set against something else; e.g., one team vs another; one point of view vs another point of view, Brown v. Smith.
3 Related words include adverse, averse, inverse, obverse, perverse, reverse, transverse, traverse, universe.
4 I can see a cartoon. A person is talking with their obviously angry and upset partner. “But we were just talking,” says the person.
Merriam-Webster tells us that the word intercourse is from Latin intercursus (the act of running between) and intercurrere (to run between). And, wouldn’t you know, currere is the source of the word curriculum. I can see another cartoon, this one for the scholarly journals: “But we were just working on our curriculum.”
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 word conversation has its origins in the PIE root wer-2 (to bend, to turn)1 and Latin vertere (to turn) and versus (a verse, a turning).
In ancient Latin, versus meant how the verses in a poem turned in relation to one another.2 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 way in which a poet or speaker versed (or spoke) the poem helped the listeners to hear 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).3 Sometimes, when people talked or conversed, a person could change their mind about something. A conversation could result in a convertere (a conversion).
Also, in classical Latin, the word conversen meant to live with, to keep company with; that is, people’s lives ‘turned around’ each other. Latin conversari meant to live, to dwell. Latin conversationem meant frequent use, frequent abode in a place, intercourse, and conversation.
From these Latin sources came Old French conversation, medieval English conversacioun, and, in the mid-14th century, the English word conversation appears. 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.4
The term ‘conversation piece’ (a painting representing a group of figures arranged as if in conversation) is from 1712. ‘Conversation piece’ meaning a topic for conversation from 1784.
The current use of the word conversation to mean an informal interchange of thoughts and sentiments by spoken words is from the 1570s.
To conclude, what makes a good conversation? Have you ever been talking with someone and had the impression that the person is just waiting for you to stop talking so that they can get on with whatever it is that they wanted to say? Have you ever been talking with a group of people who interrupt each other in order to go off on completely different topics? Have you ever been in a social situation in which the social chit chat seems simply a string of disconnected bits of information? Such talking together can function as social glue and may interesting and useful. But is it conversation?
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 is when the 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.
In brief, the words conversation, dialogue, and discussion often tend to be used synonyms for the activity of people talking with one another. However, to differentiate these words: conversation is usually an informal or casual turning back and forth of talk among people, dialogue tends to be a more formal or process-oriented exchange of ideas, and discussion is more like a debate or an argument.
1 PIE wer-2 is also the source of the words worm and vermin. The Old English word wyrm, meaning dragon, is also from this PIE source.
2 Today the word versus (abbreviated vs or simply v.) means something set against something else; e.g., one team vs another; one point of view vs another point of view, Brown v. Smith.
3 Related words include adverse, averse, inverse, obverse, perverse, reverse, transverse, traverse, universe.
4 I can see a cartoon. A person is talking with their obviously angry and upset partner. “But we were just talking,” says the person.
Merriam-Webster tells us that the word intercourse is from Latin intercursus (the act of running between) and intercurrere (to run between). And, wouldn’t you know, currere is the source of the word curriculum. I can see another cartoon, this one for the scholarly journals: “But we were just working on our curriculum.”
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