GalacticCactus Forum

Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Teshi on May 08, 2006, 01:21:19 PM

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Teshi on May 08, 2006, 01:21:19 PM

By "rent" I mean a tear in something, as in "a rent in a piece of clothing"- I had this in a story and it was questioned and I cannot find any instances of the use of the word "rent" meaning "tear"... I would use the OED to check but I'm back in Ottawa now and my university access is gone *tear*.

Am I going crazy? Is this some kind of archaic use of the word that I'm picking up on? Is it perhaps a britishism that I should steer clear of?

 

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Porter on May 08, 2006, 01:23:04 PM

I don't know, but I'd guess that the proper word is "rend".  I think that "rent" is the past tense of "rend".

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Teshi on May 08, 2006, 01:40:31 PM

Hm. You are right. Perhaps my mind took the verb "rend" and did something weird with it, ending up with "rent" as a noun.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Teshi on May 08, 2006, 01:54:09 PM

Ha! No. I found it in a dictionary. A rent could be a large tear in something- usually clothing.

Now I wonder if I should use it, because it sounds like it's obscure and archaic...

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Jonathon on May 08, 2006, 02:03:02 PM

Quote

I found it in a dictionary.

That's usually a good place to check if you want to know whether something is a word. :P


Also, it's really not a very obscure or archaic word.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: rivka on May 08, 2006, 10:10:42 PM

Yeah, I've been known to use it.

Ok, that's not really proof of much, but still . . . ;)

Title: A "rent".
Post by: JT on May 09, 2006, 05:34:41 AM

In my head, I hear it used in conjunction with 'twain'.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: pooka on May 09, 2006, 05:44:21 AM

I've not heard it as a noun.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: Noemon on May 09, 2006, 08:17:06 AM

Quote

Also, it's really not a very obscure or archaic word.

Yeah, I agree with Jon Boy--it's relatively common, at least to my ear.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: pooka on May 09, 2006, 08:54:18 AM

As a noun I can maybe see it being used in conjunction with "timespace".  "There's a rent in the timespace continuum!"  Like a rift, but more like global warming and less like something that will lead to character revealing hijinks with alternate universe personnae.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: rivka on May 09, 2006, 08:57:37 AM

So a baby rift?

Title: A "rent".
Post by: pooka on May 09, 2006, 08:58:15 AM

No, a mama rift.

Title: A "rent".
Post by: saxon75 on May 09, 2006, 09:11:38 AM

"Timespace" always makes me do a slight doubletake.  I'm much more used to "spacetime."

Title: A "rent".
Post by: pooka on May 09, 2006, 09:54:12 AM

Oh, man.  You're right.  How did I do that?  Maybe it was trying to think of a rent instead of a rift.