Friday, January 13, 2012

This is a Usable Word? Abaser

New series. I hope this will be a fun series, good-humored ranting about some of the words in the 4th edition of the official Scrabble dictionary.

There are lots of foreign words in the dictionary, and I don't really have a complaint about them...but if a word can't be used in a sentence that makes sense, it shouldn't be in the dictionary!

But it is!

So you'll learn the word and its definition, and I'll just do a little venting...

ABASER

[I still share the rant on this, although since I discovered that it actually is in use - in religion - my rant is now moot. Still, I'll share it anyway, just cuz. You'll never forget the word ABASER after this] The definition of ABASE is "to lower in rank, prestige or esteem." I've known this word since I was 13 years old. Science fiction author EE "Doc" Smith wrote in the Lensman series about Kimball "Kim" Kinnison. In one of the books he's pretending to be a pirate (when in actual fact he's a Lensman.) He's trying to infiltrate another pirate's lair, makes a mistake and says, "I abase myself." to the pirate leader

But ABASER? One that abases?

"Kim Kinnison straightened up and looked at his abaser with contempt."

Well...I suppose that that makes sense, but I doubt if anyone anywhere has ever used abaser in a sentence!

Well, well, well... you learn something new every day. I just did a Google search on "the abaser" and it came up with quite a few links to the Islam religion.

http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?bkID=100&chapter=21
From the previous verses [which I do not share] it is manifest that (abasing) and (exalting) can be concrete as well as abstract, for instance, prestige and honour, fame and glory. Of these two names of Allah (the ABASER, EXALTER), it is said that Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, abases the pagans by agonizing them and elevates the believers by bestowing blessings on them; He exalts the believers by nearing them and degrades His enemies by keeping them at a distance.

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