{"id":7102,"date":"2025-07-25T02:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/?p=7102"},"modified":"2025-07-25T02:25:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:25:02","slug":"word-of-the-day-beguile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/2025\/07\/25\/word-of-the-day-beguile\/","title":{"rendered":"Word of the Day: Beguile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s word of the day, courtesy of the Word Guru daily email, is beguile<\/em>. Pronounced \/ b\u026a\u02c8ga\u026al \/, this verb means \u201cto influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude,\u201d \u201cto take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually followed byof ),\u201d \u201cto take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually followed by of),\u201d or \u201co pass (time) pleasantly\u201d (https:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/beguile<\/a>). Samuel Johnson included it in his 1755 Dictionary, and his first definition was \u201cTo impose upon; to delude; to cheat\u201d (https:\/\/johnsonsdictionaryonline.com\/views\/search.php?term=beguile<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Etymonline.com gives the definition of \u201c\u2019delude by artifice\u2019” and says that it is from the \u201cearly 13c., from be-<\/strong><\/a> + guile<\/strong><\/a> (v.). The meaning \u2018entertain with pastimes\u2019 is by 1580s (compare the sense evolution of amuse<\/strong><\/a>)\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/search?q=beguile<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The be- part is a \u201cword-forming element of verbs and nouns from verbs, with a wide range of meaning: \u2018about, around; thoroughly, completely; to make, cause, seem; to provide with; at, on, to, for;\u2019 from Old English be-<\/em> \u2018about, around, on all sides\u2019 (the unstressed form of bi<\/em> \u2018by;\u2019 see by<\/strong><\/a> (prep.)). The form has remained by-<\/em> in stressed positions and in some more modern formations (bygones<\/strong><\/a>, bystander<\/strong><\/a>); in bylaw<\/strong><\/a> it is a different word. The Old English prefix also was used to make transitive verbs and as a privative prefix (as in behead<\/strong><\/a>). The sense \u2018on all sides, all about\u2019 naturally grew to include intensive uses (as in bespatter<\/em> \u2018spatter about,\u2019 therefore \u2018spatter very much,\u2019 besprinkle<\/em>, etc.). Be-<\/em> also can be causative, or have just about any sense required. The prefix was productive 16c.-17c. in forming useful words, many of which have not survived, such as bethwack<\/em> \u2018to thrash soundly\u2019 (1550s) and betongue<\/em> \u2018to assail in speech, to scold\u2019 (1630s)\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/word\/be-<\/a>). In linguistics, when we say that something is \u201cproductive,\u201d we mean that we \u201cuse a particular grammatical process, especially in word formation\u201d (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Productivity_(linguistics)<\/a>). The be- prefix is no longer productive in word formation, though it might be interesting if it were: \u201cI was bescammed!\u201d And I think it would be fun to hear a baseball announcer say, \u201cThat ball was really bethwacked!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guile, on the other hand, is from the \u201cmid-12c., from Old French guile<\/em> \u2018deceit, wile, fraud, ruse, trickery,\u2019 probably from Frankish *wigila<\/em> \u2018trick, ruse\u2019 or a related Germanic source; according to Watkins, from Proto-Germanic *wih-l-<\/em> (source also of Old Frisian wigila<\/em> \u2018sorcery, witchcraft,\u2019 Old English wig<\/em> \u2018idol,\u2019 Gothic weihs<\/em> \u2018holy,\u2019 German weihen<\/em> \u2018consecrate\u2019), from PIE root *weik-<\/em> (2) \u2018consecrated, holy\u2019\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/search?q=guile<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merriam-Webster writes about beguile<\/em>, \u201cA number of English words have traveled a rather curious path from meanings related to deception or trickery to something less unwelcome. A prime example is beguile<\/em>, which first appeared in English around the 13th century with the meaning \u2018to lead or draw by deception.\u2019 For the next several centuries, most of the senses of the verb had to do, in one manner or another, with deceiving. Around the time of Shakespeare, however, a more appealing sense charmed its way into the English language and hasn\u2019t left since: \u2018to attract or interest someone,\u2019 or in other words, \u2018to charm.\u2019 Nowadays, you\u2019re just as likely to hear beguile<\/em> applied to someone who woos an audience with charisma, as to a wily<\/a> trickster who hoodwinks<\/a> others to get their way\u201d (https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/beguile<\/a>). This process of a word\u2019s going from a more negative meaning to a less negative or more positive meaning is called amelioration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Christmas Day in 1940, a Broadway musical by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, with a book by John O\u2019Hara, opened in the Ethel Merman Theater. It was called Pal Joey, and it starred Gene Kelly, Vivienne Segal, June Havoc, Stanley Donen, and Van Johnson (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pal_Joey_(musical)<\/a>). It ran for 10 months, and later had numerous successful revivals and a 1957 film version with Frank Sinatra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an odd little show. The theater critic Brooks Anderson wrote of it, \u201cIf it is possible to make an entertaining musical comedy out of an odious story, Pal Joey<\/em> is it. John O’Hara<\/a> has written a joyless book about a sulky assignation. Under George Abbott<\/a>‘s direction some of the best workmen on Broadway have fitted it out with smart embellishments. Pal Joey<\/em> offers everything but a good time, whether Joey is a punk or a heel is something worth more careful thinking than time permits. Although Pal Joey<\/em> is expertly done, can you draw sweet water from a foul well?\u201d (ibid.). Of course, it\u2019s not the only sordid story turned into a Broadway musical; Carousel<\/em> is one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps because of the sordid nature of the story, the songs from the show were banned from the radio for a while in the 1940s, but eventually one of those songs became a bit hit. The first act song \u201cBewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,\u201d \u201cremains one of Rodgers & Hart\u2019s most enduring songs. Sophisticated, rueful and a bit naughty, \u2018Bewitched\u2019 presents a vivid portrait of a seasoned adult confounded by the turbulence of new love. Lorenz Hart wrote so many lyrics for the song and its reprises that seemingly no two recordings use exactly the same words\u201d (https:\/\/rodgersandhammerstein.com\/song\/pal-joey\/bewitched-bothered-and-bewildered\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn June of 1950, six different recordings of \u201cBewitched\u201d made the Top 20 list of most-played records on the radio. These recordings were by Doris Day, Mel Torm\u00e9 and the Pete Rugolo Orchestra, Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, Jan August and Jerry Murad\u2019s Harmonicats, Bill Snyder, Roy Ross and His Orchestra, and Larry Green. In addition, Billboard<\/em> reported that \u2018Bewitched\u2019 was the best-selling sheet music for the week ending May 26, 1950. The song has since been covered by a host of singers, including Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, Sinead O\u2019Connor, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald and Lady Gaga; Rod Stewart and Cher released a duet version in 2003\u201d (ibid.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here\u2019s the chorus from the song, with a link<\/a> to it if you want to listen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m wild again!
Beguiled again!
A simpering, whimpering child again!
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s image is from the 1940 production of Pal Joey, starring Gene Kelly and Vivienne Segal (https:\/\/rodgersandhammerstein.com\/stills\/pal-joey-1940-broadway\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s word of the day, courtesy of the Word Guru daily email, is beguile. Pronounced \/ b\u026a\u02c8ga\u026al \/, this verb means \u201cto influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude,\u201d \u201cto […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[857,238,395,284,858],"class_list":["post-7102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-of-the-day","tag-beguile","tag-dictionary","tag-etymology","tag-linguistics","tag-pal-joey","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7104,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102\/revisions\/7104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}