Okay, let's get right down to brass tacks. I'll start by resisting the urge to go into the etymology of "brass tacks".
Look at these two words. Obnoxious, Noxious. They are, I mean, they're obviously related, right? Noxious is a root form, with a prefix slapped on it, right? Or maybe 'nox' is the root, they both have 'ious' as a suffix, and then 'ob' modifies the meaning slightly. Right? I mean, c'mon. This one is so obvious that... wait a sec.
Obvious. I mean, 'ious' and 'ob' clearly aren't modifiers in that word because the root of 'obvious' obviously isn't 'v', so... Dang it. This is probably still complicated, isn't it?
Define noxious in your head while I use it in a sentence. "Jimmy's proclivity for gassing strangers with noxious fumes landed him decades in prison and a reputation as a horrifying serial killer." So what does noxious mean? Did you come up with something in the vicinity of "adj; deadly"? You probably did, 'cause you're pretty on point. Good work.
How about obnoxious? Here, I'll give you another sentence. "Jimmy's proclivity for gassing strangers with obnoxious fumes landed him an afternoon in detention and a reputation as a pretty gross dude." What do you think, is obnoxious a little different? Are you thinking something in the same general area as "adj; annoying"? Good, good. Glad we're all on the same page here.
Now, did you notice that there was a bit of difference in severity between the two words? One means you farted in a crowded elevator, the other means you flooded the place with mustard gas. But take hope, fair English speaker! Because as it happens, the words are related. In Latin. Which means nothing for us, actually.
See, back in the day, 'noxious' sprung from the root 'noxa' and meant 'harmful, hurtful'. Back in that same day, some enterprising Roman slapped 'noxa' together with the modifier 'ob' and got 'obnoxius', meaning 'subject to harm or hurt'. So one means "this thing will kill you" and the other means "you are being exposed to a thing which will kill you". There, see? Isn't that simple? Refreshing? Yeah, feels good. You can uh, you can just stop here. Because the 1500's were... well...
Look, in the early 1500's we see the earliest known instance of our modern form of 'noxious' in writing. It meant then basically what it means now. Later that century, around 1560, we see the earliest known instance of our modern 'obnoxious' in writing. It meant "subject to the authority of another." Assuming the 'other' referred to there meant you harm, it's not an enormous leap from the original Latin to there, and in the 1590's we find writings that use it in almost its original sense.
Then, sometime between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 17th century, obnoxious changed from meaning "subject to harm" to, basically, "annoying". Instead of meaning "dude, you're breathing deadly fumes!" it now means "dude, you're bugging me, quit it."
Why did this change happen, you may ask? Whence did this alteration occur? 'Da heck am I supposed to know? English speakers are weird, and the language is a leaking bucket of corn-starch putty. You punch it and it seems solid, sure. But let it sit for like two seconds and it'll run all over and get into every available crack.
It's obnoxious. And no, I don't know what I really mean by that.
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| Way more effort than it should be, honestly. |
Look at these two words. Obnoxious, Noxious. They are, I mean, they're obviously related, right? Noxious is a root form, with a prefix slapped on it, right? Or maybe 'nox' is the root, they both have 'ious' as a suffix, and then 'ob' modifies the meaning slightly. Right? I mean, c'mon. This one is so obvious that... wait a sec.
Obvious. I mean, 'ious' and 'ob' clearly aren't modifiers in that word because the root of 'obvious' obviously isn't 'v', so... Dang it. This is probably still complicated, isn't it?
Define noxious in your head while I use it in a sentence. "Jimmy's proclivity for gassing strangers with noxious fumes landed him decades in prison and a reputation as a horrifying serial killer." So what does noxious mean? Did you come up with something in the vicinity of "adj; deadly"? You probably did, 'cause you're pretty on point. Good work.
How about obnoxious? Here, I'll give you another sentence. "Jimmy's proclivity for gassing strangers with obnoxious fumes landed him an afternoon in detention and a reputation as a pretty gross dude." What do you think, is obnoxious a little different? Are you thinking something in the same general area as "adj; annoying"? Good, good. Glad we're all on the same page here.
Now, did you notice that there was a bit of difference in severity between the two words? One means you farted in a crowded elevator, the other means you flooded the place with mustard gas. But take hope, fair English speaker! Because as it happens, the words are related. In Latin. Which means nothing for us, actually.
See, back in the day, 'noxious' sprung from the root 'noxa' and meant 'harmful, hurtful'. Back in that same day, some enterprising Roman slapped 'noxa' together with the modifier 'ob' and got 'obnoxius', meaning 'subject to harm or hurt'. So one means "this thing will kill you" and the other means "you are being exposed to a thing which will kill you". There, see? Isn't that simple? Refreshing? Yeah, feels good. You can uh, you can just stop here. Because the 1500's were... well...
Look, in the early 1500's we see the earliest known instance of our modern form of 'noxious' in writing. It meant then basically what it means now. Later that century, around 1560, we see the earliest known instance of our modern 'obnoxious' in writing. It meant "subject to the authority of another." Assuming the 'other' referred to there meant you harm, it's not an enormous leap from the original Latin to there, and in the 1590's we find writings that use it in almost its original sense.
Then, sometime between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 17th century, obnoxious changed from meaning "subject to harm" to, basically, "annoying". Instead of meaning "dude, you're breathing deadly fumes!" it now means "dude, you're bugging me, quit it."
Why did this change happen, you may ask? Whence did this alteration occur? 'Da heck am I supposed to know? English speakers are weird, and the language is a leaking bucket of corn-starch putty. You punch it and it seems solid, sure. But let it sit for like two seconds and it'll run all over and get into every available crack.
It's obnoxious. And no, I don't know what I really mean by that.
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