Questions e-mailed to me by Mr. Leonolin Pecina, Forum reader (January 26, 2015):Mr. Carillo,
Thank you for that enlightening lesson on
the nominative/subjective case of nouns. Frankly, I didn’t know the difference until now.
May I, too, ask for your help, this time regarding use of the adjective “gratuitous.” I know that some words have different senses or dictionary meanings, but the difference is usually not contradictory. The word “gratuitous” is unique (at least to me) in that it seems the two senses of the word are contradictory. Would you know the origin of this word and how it has evolved to have seemingly contradictory meanings? Or, is it just me? I’m confused though.
Thank you, Mr. Carillo.
A. Pecina
My reply to Mr. Pecina:You’re most welcome and I’d like to thank you for the compliment about my essay on the nominative and subjective case. I’m delighted that you found that little grammar refresher useful.
IMAGE CREDIT: RD.COM/LIST/CONTRONYMS-WORDS-OPPOSITES/“Gratuitous” belongs to a strange league of words known as “contronyms”
The adjective “gratuitous” indeed belongs to the strange league of words variously known as “contronyms,” “antagonyms,” and “auto-antonyms,” meaning that they have conflicting or contradictory definitions. A very good example is the verb “patronize” in the positive sense of favorably giving business to someone and in the negative sense of treating someone condescendingly or haughtily, as in “She
patronizes my restaurant and gives me a lot of referrals, but I don’t like the way she
patronizes me while she’s dining there with her friends.”
No, you’re not imagining things about “gratuitous”; you’re absolutely right that this adjective is a contronym that’s in a similar predicament as the verb “patronize.” On one hand, “gratuitous” has the positive sense of being given free or done or provided without expectation of being recompensed for it, as in “She's well-liked in the community for her
gratuitous service as a Red Cross volunteer for many years”; on the other hand, “gratuitous” has the contrary, negative sense of being unwarranted or uncalled for by the circumstances, as in “The couple was terribly scandalized when the supposedly general-patronage movie showed a lot of
gratuitous nudity.”
How did “gratuitous” get to have such contrary meanings?
I think it will be best to just quote this usage note from
Merriam-Webster’s “Word of the Day”:
Like “gratitude,” “grace,” and “congratulate,” “gratuitous” is a descendant of the Latin word gratus, which means “pleasing” or “grateful.” When gratuitous was first used in the middle of the 17th century, it meant “free” or “given without return benefit or compensation.” The extended meaning “done without good reason” or “unwarranted” came about just a few decades later, perhaps from the belief held by some people that one should not give something without getting something in return. Today, that extended meaning is the more common sense, often used in such phrases as “a gratuitous insult” or to describe elements of a story that are not relevant to the plot.
I trust that this discussion will totally banish your confusion about “gratuitous” as a contronym.
