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Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 2:47 pm
by schwiss
This is something that has been bothering me for a long time. You guys* have below, before, behind, beside, all very informative words of something being in a relative position to something else. Why is there no behigh, or betop, or whatever? Or is there, and I have just not heard of it?

*I mean you English-speaking people

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 3:20 pm
by rhythm_keeper
It's not like current variants of the English language were invented recently. Words are created, lost, and changed over centuries. For example, "afore" apparently used to be used (meaning "before"). Betop = atop. Behigh = above. Maybe an etymologist or linguist can elaborate.

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 3:31 pm
by HappyQuark
schwiss wrote:This is something that has been bothering me for a long time. You guys* have below, before, behind, beside, all very informative words of something being in a relative position to something else. Why is there no behigh, or betop, or whatever? Or is there, and I have just not heard of it?

*I mean you English-speaking people
The prefix 'be-' has a number of uses, one of which you've identified means to come prior to, ancillary to or is subordinate in relation to something. It makes sense to use this word in terms of 'below' or 'before' because these words all mean that something is either underneath in terms of position or prior to something in terms of time. On the other hand, it wouldn't make sense to use this for something that is on top of another thing or ahead of another thing so we use words like 'above', 'ahead', and 'atop', to describe superordinate positions.

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:43 pm
by WhoaNonstop
rhythm_keeper wrote:It's not like current variants of the English language were invented recently. Words are created, lost, and changed over centuries. For example, "afore" apparently used to be used (meaning "before"). Betop = atop. Behigh = above. Maybe an etymologist or linguist can elaborate.
Love how this guy joined the forum just to post on this thread.

I agree with what HappyQuark said.

-Riley

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:04 pm
by HappyQuark
WhoaNonstop wrote:
rhythm_keeper wrote:It's not like current variants of the English language were invented recently. Words are created, lost, and changed over centuries. For example, "afore" apparently used to be used (meaning "before"). Betop = atop. Behigh = above. Maybe an etymologist or linguist can elaborate.
Love how this guy joined the forum just to post on this thread.

I agree with what HappyQuark said.

-Riley
Why did you join the forum, To make comments relevant to the theme and topic of the forum?

You elitists make me sick!

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:10 pm
by WhoaNonstop
HappyQuark wrote:Why did you join the forum, To make comments relevant to the theme and topic of the forum?

You elitists make me sick!
Actually, I joined this forum to ask about going to graduate school for economics.

-Riley

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:38 pm
by HappyQuark
WhoaNonstop wrote:
HappyQuark wrote:Why did you join the forum, To make comments relevant to the theme and topic of the forum?

You elitists make me sick!
Actually, I joined this forum to ask about going to graduate school for economics.

-Riley
Oh, well in that case I apologize. I can't think of anything more logical than to join a physics gre forum in order to get advice from anonymous strangers about the transition between two fields of study that are both unrelated to physics and, by all accounts, unrelated to each other.

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 8:33 am
by WhoaNonstop
HappyQuark wrote:Oh, well in that case I apologize. I can't think of anything more logical than to join a physics gre forum in order to get advice from anonymous strangers about the transition between two fields of study that are both unrelated to physics and, by all accounts, unrelated to each other.
Thank you for being understanding. :wink:

-Riley

Re: Why no behigh?

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:26 pm
by rhythm_keeper
HappyQuark wrote:
WhoaNonstop wrote:
rhythm_keeper wrote:It's not like current variants of the English language were invented recently. Words are created, lost, and changed over centuries. For example, "afore" apparently used to be used (meaning "before"). Betop = atop. Behigh = above. Maybe an etymologist or linguist can elaborate.
Love how this guy joined the forum just to post on this thread.

I agree with what HappyQuark said.

-Riley
Why did you join the forum, To make comments relevant to the theme and topic of the forum?

You elitists make me sick!
Wait...this isn't the gradcafe? Whoops.