(no subject)

[wickedflea]

"Fellowship" is not a verb. But I keep hearing it used as one. The first time I heard it was about fifteen years ago at the weird little Methodist junior college where my mom taught and I took a few classes. I didn't hear it again until a few months ago, and now I hear it ALL THE TIME. It's kind of a recovery-community buzzword around here. And it still makes me want to drive a stake through my frontal lobe.

Comments

[sweetterrig.livejournal.com]

Could you use it in a sentence that you hear often? Don't get it.

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant to do that. :) Yeah, it's like "I really enjoy fellowshipping with people" or "We stopped by Dan and Judy's and fellowshipped last night." Sends me right up the wall.

[sweetterrig.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I hear that a lot in religious circles. Outside of that... I don't think people know what that means. It definitely is being used incorrectly.

[buscemi.livejournal.com]

You should fellowship 'em over to Rob Zombie's house. That should do the trick. ;)

Oh, that reminds me of a commercial. The slogan was "A new way to internet." As if anyone says, "Dude, let's internet!"

[cierrablue.livejournal.com]

I want to say something funny here. But I have nothing. It somehow warms the cockles of my heart to know you feel all disgruntled and stabby. That's probably my favorite thing about you.

[wretchmuffin.livejournal.com]

Barry White would have rocked "fellowship" as a verb. You know it.

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

=) Yeah, I feel goofy about getting bent out of shape over stuff like that, but it really does bug me!

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

You right. See, I could take that coming from Barry, though. "I want to fellowship you . . ." Barry's smoove like that.

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I've noticed the same commercial!

[jah9000.livejournal.com]

Fellowship is indeed a verb. It probably got that way by the law of common usage, but nevertheless, it's status is presently valid. The usage did originate in religious contexts as far as I know. To Fellowship is likely derivative of To * Fellowship, where * was originally the true verb, like 'develop' or 'increase'.

As long as I can recall, though, folks have gathered in the Fellowship Hall to Fellowship with one another.

[jah9000.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my linguistic credibility is totally made by that misplaced apostrophe. Disaster!

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

Wow, right you are! It goes back to Chaucer, and I had no idea. It's always seemed like it was part of that modern tendency to verb nouns, but I guess it's well established. I'd still prefer that people would gather to HAVE fellowship rather than gather to fellowship, though. :P