A.Word.A.Day--perforce

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Apr 20, 2020

This week’s theme
Adverbs

This week’s words
perforce

Previous week’s theme
Words formed by clipping

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Reader Mary J. Dickenson of Kingston, Canada, wrote:

I had a friend many years ago whose sister had a baby. She named him Bradly. To this day, whenever I hear the name Bradley I think of that poor kid whose parents, unwittingly, adverbed a perfectly solid name. Also, my first husband’s introduction to creative spelling as a teacher was a student named Jewelly. I still giggle about it.

The naming of a child with an adverbial name is not unheard of, though not very common (read about a flight attendant named Frankly). If you’re expecting a baby and adverbially inclined, you don’t have to limit yourself to -ly words. Consider this week’s adverbs, some -ly, others non-ly.

perforce

PRONUNCIATION:

(puhr-FORS)

MEANING:

adverb: Out of necessity.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French par force (by force), from par (by) + force, from Latin per (by) and fortis (strong). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhergh- (high), which also gave us iceberg, borough, burg, burglar, fortify, force, belfry, bourgeois, inselberg, and sforzando. Earliest documented use: 1330.

USAGE:

“Mr Gryseels, like many modern museum bosses, is perforce a canny diplomat.”
The Burden of History; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 8, 2018.

See more usage examples of perforce in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Oh, the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person -- having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. -Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, poet and novelist (20 Apr 1826-1887)

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