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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: comprex on May 18, 2011, 10:03:43 PM

Title: How cool is your word...and how cool was it?
Post by: comprex on May 18, 2011, 10:03:43 PM

Some of you might already know about this toy.

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/

Any guesses why 'rampire' would have peaked in 1810?

(http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=rampire%2Cblampire&corpus=0&smoothing=3&year_start=1800&year_end=2000)

Title: Re: How cool is your word...and how cool was it?
Post by: Shecky on May 18, 2011, 10:39:52 PM

Because it's an archaic word meaning "rampart" and was used in a text popular at that time, maybe? This is the first time I've actually looked it up, so I've no clue.

Title: Re: How cool is your word...and how cool was it?
Post by: comprex on May 18, 2011, 10:55:17 PM

Well, yes^, but I was hoping for a more specific answer.   Of the two usage examples dictionary.com gives   Browning wasn't published yet :) and Dryden was a bit past it   ;)  (though might have been republished).  

I'm wondering if that spike might not reflect acquisitions of works  by the libraries used for the scanning material sources (specifically the Library of Congress re-opening after the war of 1812).    They simply wouldn't have the means to acquire older books yet, and newer books barely use the word.

Moving on to your word, scroll over to the right side of the graph:

(http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/chart?content=combobulated%2Crecombobulated&corpus=0&smoothing=3&year_start=1800&year_end=2000)