perdition — a noun meaning “eternal damnation” or “hell”
perdiciόn — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning
First, I’m going to share the following information taken from merriam-webster.com:
Perdition began life as a word meaning "utter destruction"; that sense is now archaic, but it provides a clue about the origins of the word. "Perdition" was borrowed into English in the 14th century from Anglo-French perdiciun and ultimately derives from the Latin verb perdere, meaning "to destroy."
That Latin verb of perdere became “perder” in Spanish, and the current use of the verb “perder” is in the meaning of “to lose.” “Perder” is a very common verb in Spanish, and anyone who studies the language encounters it fairly early in the learning process. It causes difficulty for English speakers because it’s completely different from our equivalent word of “to lose,” and because it is a stem-changing verb where the initial “e” changes to “ie” when conjugating — I won’t get into all that here, though. I don’t want to “lose” you!
Knowing the English word of “perdition” can help you remember the word “perder” in Spanish. An older meaning, now obsolete, of “perdition” is “utter loss.” If you are bound for Perdition (or Hell), then you definitely will have utterly lost everything, so there is still that “loss” connection to our current use of “perdition,” and seeing that can help you remember what “perder” means in Spanish.
Years back, there was a song by Beck called “Loser.” Part of the lyrics were “Soy un perdedor. I’m a loser, baby, so why don’t you kill me.” While I’m not a fan of that message at all, during the year or so that this song was well known by my high school students, it did help them remember the verb “perder.” Believe me, they called each other “perdedor” a LOT those years. That would be “perdedora” for all you female losers. Ha ha. Here’s a link to that song if you have any interest in listening to it: Loser
We have another lesser-used word that comes from that Latin verb of perdere. It is “perdu” which is an adjective meaning “hidden” or “concealed” — almost as if the thing is “lost.” It can also be spelled “perdue.”
Speaking of being “lost,” there are always colloquial and cultural meanings associated with words that can unintentionally get you into trouble. Years ago I was in Mexico with my friend, Silvia, who is from there and who lives there. We had gone to a large mall she’d never been to in a town we were visiting. After wandering around for a few hours, we realized we were a bit turned around and couldn’t remember how to get back to where we’d started. She hates to ask for directions, so I made a comment that I would and joked that I could say something like, “Ayudame, por favor, soy una gringa perdida.” I wasn’t actually going to say it; I was just joking with her, but that loosely translated — in my mind — to “Help me please, I’m a lost white lady.” Silvia grabbed my arm and hushed me and told me not to dare saying that because, apparently, “perdida” can also mean “lost” in the sense of “tainted” as if I were an easy lay, so to speak. Naturally, I have never told anyone in Mexico that I was “perdida” even if I happened to be hopelessly “lost” at the time. Without her informing me of this meaning of “perdida,” I easily could have given people in Mexico the wrong impression of me and a good laugh at my expense.
If you missed receiving your weekly dose of “Cognate Cognizance” last week, you can still change your subscription to a paid one and then have access to my entry about the word “emollient.”
Until next time.
Tammy Marshall
Perdition