HELP! "Time Immemori--" what?

[Elayne Wechsler-Chaput]

Forgive me if this question has been raised before, as I'm fairly new to
this newsgroup, but I've been having, um, a difference of opinion with a
friend as to the above expression.

Is it "time immemoriaM" or "immemoriaL"? (yes, obviously I know it's not
a capital letter at the end, I just did that for emphasis)

I could have SWORN it was the former, but he assured me he looked it up
in his dictionary (and we all know how THOSE tend to vary) and informed
me that the latter is the correct usage/spelling.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

- Elayne

[Mark Odegard]

In <3duem5$l...@panix.com> fire...@panix.com (Elayne Wechsler-Chaput)
writes:

Time immemorial. As far back as anyone can remember. A technical
common law term, I believe.

It can be a very long period indeed.
Or it can be a suprisingly short period.

It refers ultimately to living memory. This has been so since time
immemorial, i.e., this has been so since anyone can remember back.

[K.-Benoit Evans]

The term sought is "time immemorial". Perhaps you were confused by the
Latinism "in memoriam".

_Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_ has this to say:

"Time Immemorial. Since ancient times, beyond memory. In English law,
beyond "legal memory", i.e., before the reign of Richard I (1189-1199),
because the Statute of Westminster of 1275 fixed this reign as the time
limit for bringing certain types of action."

K.-Benoit Evans

[Elayne Wechsler-Chaput]

K.-Benoit Evans (kev...@panix.com) wrote:
: The term sought is "time immemorial". Perhaps you were confused by the
: Latinism "in memoriam".

Damn. Oh well, I guess I can't be right all the time. :)

Yeah, I guess that must have been what got me confused. That, and the
fact that I never took Latin in school...

...and I'm usually so GOOD with languages, too. Now I'm depressed...

But thanks to all of you who answered this - I appreciate it!

- Elayne

[Pascal MacProgrammer]

Not so very long ago, fire...@panix.com (Elayne Wechsler-Chaput) said...

>Is it "time immemoriaM" or "immemoriaL"? (yes, obviously I know it's not
>a capital letter at the end, I just did that for emphasis)

This is one of the few cases in which the adjective follows the noun in
English. Others are "...through streets broad and narrow...", and
"Captains Courageous".

And the "since time immemorial" (since a time so long ago that no one
remembers it). "Immemoriam" isn't an English word.

You may be confusing this expression with "In Memoriam", which
occasionally appears over obituaries. It's Latin for "into memory".

--
==----= Steve MacGregor
([.] [.]) Phoenix, AZ
--------------------------oOOo--(_)--oOOo--------------------------------
Quick! Buy postage stamps before the price goes up!

[Richard Treitel]

In article <3duem5$l...@panix.com>, fire...@panix.com (Elayne Wechsler-Chaput) writes:
|> Is it "time immemoriaM" or "immemoriaL"?

The time is immemorial. You may be getting interference from "in
memoriam", which is generally applied to dead people, whether or not
anyone remembers when they died.

-- Richard

(If my employer holds these views, it hasn't told me.)

[Veronica Sullivan]

Oh, geez, firehead, don't get depressed.
The older I get, the more I enjoy my mistakes.
ron

[Elayne Wechsler-Chaput]

Veronica Sullivan (ronsu...@igc.apc.org) wrote:
: Oh, geez, firehead, don't get depressed.

: The older I get, the more I enjoy my mistakes.

Thanks, Ron. I guess it just peeves me that I've been laboring under
this delusion for SO long, and I've usually been pretty proud of my grasp
of such things, and... oh well, it could be worse. I've seen two signs
in Flatbush (Brooklyn) recently that REALLY depress me: One is over a
sandwich shop and advertises "SANDWHICHES", and the other is a sign for
"Splatterball: Sport of the '90th" (yes, APOSTROPHE, 9, 0, TH!)...
wonder if the 190th (or 290th or 390th...) Precinct has made it their
official sport or something?...

- Elayne (not nearly as depressed as I was before, thanks!0