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According to Archie Bland of The Guardian:
"The first usage recorded in the OED comes from noted Restoration lad Thomas d’Urfey, also known for his hit song & #39;The Fart& #39;, in a satirical 1677 play called & #39;Madam Fickle& #39;":
"Banter him, banter him, Toby"
"The first usage recorded in the OED comes from noted Restoration lad Thomas d’Urfey, also known for his hit song & #39;The Fart& #39;, in a satirical 1677 play called & #39;Madam Fickle& #39;":
"Banter him, banter him, Toby"
Today, I mainly hear this word as a mass noun—that is, there is no such thing as "a banter", just "banter" ...
... but & #39;banter& #39; apparently began in English (late 17th c.) as a verb, and then as a count noun.
Both are seen here in a French-English dictionary from 1729.
Both are seen here in a French-English dictionary from 1729.
The suffix & #39;-er& #39; has MANY uses in English:
1. Agent nouns (اسم فاعل): "a surfer"
2. Patient noun (اسم مفعول): "a looker"
3. Attributes a belief: "a flat-earther"
4. Attributes a measurement: "a quarter-pounder"
5. Demonyms: "a New Yorker"
etc. etc.
1. Agent nouns (اسم فاعل): "a surfer"
2. Patient noun (اسم مفعول): "a looker"
3. Attributes a belief: "a flat-earther"
4. Attributes a measurement: "a quarter-pounder"
5. Demonyms: "a New Yorker"
etc. etc.
And, of course, the I& #39;m-really-uncomfortable -er
The type of -er *probably* used in & #39;banter& #39; is called "frequentative", seen in words like:
glimmer (~ gleam)
slither (~ slide)
blabber (~ blab)
flutter (~ float)
twitter (~ tweet) [!]
The only probably being, we have no record of what it means to *bant!
glimmer (~ gleam)
slither (~ slide)
blabber (~ blab)
flutter (~ float)
twitter (~ tweet) [!]
The only probably being, we have no record of what it means to *bant!
Moving on from etymology ...
The meaning of the word & #39;banter& #39; has also varied pretty widely.
The meaning of the word & #39;banter& #39; has also varied pretty widely.
For a long time, it looks like the most common meaning was either a joke or an act of deception.
This writer (J. Greenup, in 1731) wrote that the idea of divine reward or punishment in a system of determinism was "the most egregious Banter upon us imaginable"—i.e., a nasty trick.
In this Spanish-English dictionary from 1729, the lexicographer writes of "a sort of banter or joking upon one another after the manner of the Portuguese." (?!)
This thread was brought to you by the Dissenters of the 1730s, suffixes that have way too many uses, and Twittererers like you.