Monday 3 November 2008

Careen and Cohort

The meaning of words certainly does change. Careen seems to have lost its correct meaning for many people and to be synonymous with the idea of bouncing about. The  received meaning is connected with the idea of a ship leaning to one side in a dock or whilst sailing. But the casual meaning also has a long history.

Even the distinguished American writer James Lee Burke uses the word cohort to mean a companion-or possibly a subordinate companion rather than a military grouping.Thiss can be found in his Montana set novel "Bitterroot".  As if one person and a another were fellow horts. Co-horts indeed.