Vest

Vest (pronounced vest)

(1) A sleeveless, waist- or hip-length garment made of various materials, with a front opening usually secured by buttons, a zipper, or the like, worn over a shirt, blouse, dress, or other article for style or warmth:

(2) A part or trimming simulating the front of such a garment; vestee.

(3) A waist-length garment worn for protective purposes, now often in high-visibility (hi-viz) colors.

(4) As bulletproof vest, an outer garment worn by soldiers and others in security-related fields.

(5) Historically, a long garment resembling a cassock, worn by men in the time of Charles II (archaic except as an ecclesiastical vestment).

(6) To place or settle (something, especially property, rights, powers etc) in the possession or control of someone (usually followed by in).

(7) To invest or endow (a person, group, committee, etc.) with something, as powers, functions, or rights:

(8) In the sense of something becoming vested in a person or institution; a right.

(9) In common law jurisdictions, an absolute right to some present or future interest in something of value.  When a right has vested, the person is legally entitled to what has been promised and may seek relief in court if the benefit is not given.

1375–1425: From the late Middle English vest (to put in possession of a person), from the Old French vestir (to clothe; get dressed), from the Medieval Latin vestire (to put into possession, to invest), from vestire (to clothe, dress, to adorn) and related to vestis (garment, clothing (and akin to wear)), from the primitive Indo-European wes-ti-, a suffixed form of wes- (to clothe), an extended form of the root eu- (to dress).  Vest & vested are nouns & verbs and vesting is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is vests.

The noun developed from the verb in the sense of a "loose, sleeveless outer garment" (worn by men in Eastern countries or in ancient times) dates from the 1610s, from the French seventeenth century veste (a vest, jacket), from the Italian vesta & veste (robe, gown), from the Latin vestis from vestire.  In England, the sleeveless garment worn by men beneath the coat was introduced by Charles II (1630-1685; King of Scotland 1649-1651, King of England, Scotland and Ireland 1660-1685) in a bid to rein in men's attire at court, which had grown extravagant and decadent in the French mode, Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) noting in his diary on 8 October 1666:

The King hath yesterday, in Council, declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes (and) it will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift.

Louis XIV (1638–1715; le Roi Soleil (the Sun King), King of France 1643-1715) is said to have mocked the effort by putting his footmen in such vests and sending Charles a painting of them standing at court.  The past-participle adjective from the verb in the sense of "established, secured, settled, not in a state of contingency" dates from 1766.  The verb revest (clothe again (with or as with a garment)) developed with the verb and was from revesten, from the Old French revestir, from the Late Latin revestire (to clothe again), the construct being re- (back, again) + vestire (to clothe, dress, adorn).  The related forms were revested & revesting.

One movement, many agendas: The Gilets Jaunes, December 2018.

The yellow vests movement (mouvement des gilets jaunes) was a large but loosely structured protest movement with origins in France in mid-2018.  It began in May that year as an online petition on social media with mass demonstrations being staged on successive weekends in November and December.  The agenda was primarily one of economic justice although factions within the movement have different objectives, ranging from tax reform to a revolutionary overthrow of the state.  Yellow vests were chosen as a symbol for the wholly practical reason French law requires motorists to have them in their vehicles so they were cheap, distinctive and widely available.  In other countries, protest movements with similar grievances also adopted yellow vests (often called "hi-vis" (high-visibility) but none seem yet to have achieved critical mass.

Lindsay Lohan in white puffer down vest with furry hood , black leggings and Ugg boots leaving XXI Forever, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 2013.

Although the economic pressures had existed for some time, it was the policies of the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron (b 1977; President of France since 2017) which inspired action.  Although of bourgeois origin, a few months in the Élysée Palace mixing with the rich convinced Le Président he was one of the aristocracy and accordingly followed the advice of his new friends that France’s problem was the working class spending their disposable income on fast-food, tobacco & drink and it would be for their own good to tax them more so the money could be passed to the rich who would put it to better use.  In the Élysée, while there’s now a sense of much noblesse, there’s rather less oblige.  The protests forced Macron temporarily to retreat but even at the time this was thought a change in tactics, not strategy and few doubted the hostilities would resume as soon as the country began its peaceful co-existence with COVID-19, the mouvement des gilets jaunes making it clear it would respond to any attempt by the authorities to concoct spurious pandemic-related reasons to restrict protest.

Loafer

Loafer (pronounced loh-fer)

(1) A person who loafs about; a lazy idler; a lay-about.

(2) A name for a moccasin-like, laceless, slip-on shoe, worn by both men and women.

(3) In some south-western US dialects, a wolf, especially a grey or timber wolf (often in the compound form “loafer wolf).

1830: The construct was loaf + -er.  Loaf was from the From Middle English lof & laf, from the Old English hlāf (bread, loaf of bread), from the Proto-West Germanic hlaib, from the Proto-Germanic hlaibaz (bread, loaf), of uncertain origin but which may be related to the Old English hlifian (to stand out prominently, tower up). It was cognate with the Scots laif (loaf), the German Laib (loaf), the Swedish lev (loaf), the Russian хлеб (xleb) (bread, loaf) and the Polish chleb (bread).  It was used to mean (1) a block of bread after baking, (2) any solid block of food, such as meat or sugar, (3) a solid block of soap, from which standard bar (or cake) of soap is cut or (4) in cellular automata, a particular still life configuration with seven living cells.  The origin of “use your loaf” meaning “think about it” in Cockney rhyming slang was as a shortened form of “loaf of bread” (ie “use your head”).  The –er suffix was from the Middle English –er & -ere, from the Old English -ere, from the Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, thought most likely to have been borrowed from the Latin –ārius where, as a suffix, it was used to form adjectives from nouns or numerals.  In English, the –er suffix, when added to a verb, created an agent noun: the person or thing that doing the action indicated by the root verb.   The use in English was reinforced by the synonymous but unrelated Old French –or & -eor (the Anglo-Norman variant -our), from the Latin -ātor & -tor, from the primitive Indo-European -tōr.  When appended to a noun, it created the noun denoting an occupation or describing the person whose occupation is the noun.  Loafer & loafing are nouns & verbs, loafed, loafering & loafered are verbs and loaferish is an adjective; the noun plural is loafers.

The use to describe “a lazy idler” was first documented in 1830 as an Americanism which may have been short for landloafer (vagabond), similar (though not necessarily related) to the obsolete nineteenth century German Landläufer (vagabond) or the Dutch landloper.  Etymologists suggest landloafer may have been a partial translation of a circa 1995 loan-translation of the German Landläufer as “land loper” (and may be compared with the dialectal German loofen (to run) and the English landlouper) but this has little support and most regard a more likely connection being the Middle English love, loove, loffinge & looffinge (a remnant, the rest, that which remains or lingers), from Old English lāf (remainder, residue, what is left), which was akin to Scots lave (the rest, remainder), the Old English lǣfan (to let remain, leave behind).  One amusing coincidence was that in Old English hlaf-aeta (household servant) translated literally as “loaf-eater” (ie, one who eats the bread of his master, suggesting the Anglo-Saxons might still have felt the etymological sense of their lord & master as the “loaf-guard”.  The expression "one mustn't despair because one slice has been cut from the loaf" describes a pragmatic reaction to learning one's unmarried daughter has been de-flowered and is said to be of Yiddish origin but no source has ever been cited.  In modern idomatic use, the derived phrases "a slice off a cut loaf is never missed" and "you never miss a slice from a cut loaf" refer to having enjoyed sexual intercourse with someone who is not a virgin, the idea being that once the end of a loaf (the crust) has been removed, it's not immediately obvious how many slices have been cut. 

The loafer is a style, a slip-on shoe which is essentially a slipper designed as an all-weather shoe for outdoor use.  They’re available in a wide range of styles from many manufacturers and this image is just a few of the dozens recently offered by Gucci.  In the old Soviet Union (the USSR; 1922-1991), there were usually two (when available): one for men and one for women, both (sometimes) available in black or brown.

The verb loaf was first documented in 1835 in US English, apparently a back-formation from the earlier loafer and loafed & loafing soon emerged.  The noun in the sense of “an act of loafing” was in use by 1855.  What constitutes loafing is very much something subjective; a student underachieving in Latin might be thought a loafer by a professor of classics but the “hard working, much published” don who in his whole career never lifted anything much heavier than a book would probably be dismissed as “a loafer” by the laborer digging the trench beneath his study.  A “tavern loafer” was one who spent his hours drinking in bars while a “street loafer” was a synonym for a “delinquent who hung about on street corners”.  Loafer as a description of footwear dates from 1937 and it was used of lace-less, slip-on shoes worn on less formal occasions (essentially slippers designed for outdoor use, a popular early version of which was the “penny loafer”, so named because it featured an ornamental slotted leather band across the upper where a coin was often mounted.  The use in some south-western dialects as “loafer” or “loafer wolf” to describe a grey or timber wolf is based on the American Spanish lobo (wolf), reinterpreted as or conflated with loafer (idler).

See My Vest, The Simpsons (Season 6, Episode 20), 

Loafers got a mention in the song See My Vest which appeared in Two Dozen and One Greyhounds on the TV cartoon series The Simpsons.  The song was a parody of Be Our Guest from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast while in the dialogue there were many references to the animated movie 101 Dalmatians.  In the episode, the plot revolves around the scheme by evil nuclear power-plant owner C Montgomery Burns to have the puppies of the Simpsons' dog (Santa’s Little Helper) skinned and made into a tuxedo, joining in his wardrobe an array of garments fashioned from slaughtered animals.  The music for See My Vest was composed by Alf Clausen (1941-2025) with the lyrics by Michael Scully (b 1956) including: “Like my loafers? Former gophers; it was that or skin my chauffeurs…”

Rowan Williams (b 1950; Archbishop of Canterbury 2002-2012) admiring Benedict XVI’s (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022) red loafers, Lambeth Palace, London, September 2010.  The black-clad priest looking lovingly at Benedict is Archbishop Georg Gänswein (b 1956; prefect of the papal household 2012-2023 & personal secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict).  It was the Italian fashion magazines which dubbed him "gorgeous George" and in June 2024, Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the Baltic States (Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia).  

When in 2013 announced he was resigning the papacy, there was much discussion of what might be the doctrinal or political implications but a few fashionistas also bid farewell to the best-dressed pontiff for probably a century and the one Esquire magazine had named “accessorizer of the year”.  In recent memory, the world had become accustomed to the white-robed John Paul II (1920–2005; pope 1978-2005) who would don colorful garments for ceremonial occasions but never wore them with great élan and eschewed the use of the more elaborate, perhaps influenced by Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) whose reign was marked by a gradual sartorial simplification and he was the last pope to wear the triple tiara which had since the early Middle Ages been a symbol of papal authority; briefly it sat on his head on the day of his coronation before, in an “act of humility”, it was placed on the alter where, symbolically, it has since remained although the physical object was purchased by the Archdiocese of New York, the proceeds devoted to missionary work in Africa.  That allocation proved a good investment because Africa has been a growth market for the church, unlike increasingly Godless Europe and elsewhere in the West.

The pope and the archbishop discuss the practicalities of cobbling.

Benedict’s pontificate however was eight stylish years, the immaculately tailored white caped cassock (the simar) his core piece of such monochromatic simplicity that it drew attention to the many adornments and accessories he used which included billowing scarlet satin chasubles trimmed with crimson velvet and delicate gold piping and others woven in emerald-green watered silk with a pattern of golden stars.  Much admired also was the mozzetta, a waist-length cape, and the camauro, a red velvet cap with a white fur border that around the world people compared with the usual dress of Santa Claus, X (then known as twitter) quickly fleshing out the history of the Coca-Cola Corporation’s role in creating the “uniform” although there was some exaggeration, the Santa-suit and hat familiar by at least the 1870s although Coca-Cola’s use in advertizing did seem to drive out all colors except red.  On popes however, the red velvet and white fur trim had been around for centuries though it fell from fashion after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II; 1962-1965) and was thus a novelty when Benedict revived the style.

The pope farewells the archbishop.

Not all (including some cardinals) appreciated the papal bling but what attracted most attention were his bright red loafers, a style of shoe which popes have been depicted wearing since Roman times and the Holy See was forced to issue a statement denying they were hand-crafted by the high-end Italian fashion house Prada.  In their press release, the Vatican’s Press Office reminded the world the red symbolizes martyrdom and the Passion of Christ, the shoes there to signify the pope following in the footsteps of Christ.  Rather than a fashion house, the papal loafers were the work of two Italian artisan cobblers: Adriano Stefanelli and Antonio Arellano and Signor Stefanelli’s connections with the Vatican began when he offered to make shoes for John Paul II after noticing his obvious discomfort during a television broadcast.  Signor Arellano had a longer link with Benedict’s feet, having been his cobbler when, as Joseph Ratzinger, he was the cardinal heading the Inquisition (now called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF)) and as soon as Benedict’s surprise elevation was announced, he went immediately to his last and made a pair of red loafers for him (he’s an Italian size 42 (a UK 8 & a US 9)).  Upon his resignation, as pope emeritus, he retired the red loafers in favor of three pairs (two burgundy, one brown) which were a gift from a Mexican cobbler: Armando Martin Dueñas.  Francis (b 1936; pope since 2013) has reverted to the austere ways of Vatican II and wears black shoes.

Channeling Benedict: Lindsay Lohan in red loafers, September 2016.  Although unconfirmed, it's believed these were not a papal gift.

Squint

Squint (pronounced skwint)

(1) To look with the eyes partly closed; partially to close the eyelids.

(2) In ophthalmology, to be afflicted strabismus (a condition of the eye consisting in non-coincidence of the optic axes); to be cross-eyed.

(3) To look or glance obliquely or sidewise; to look askance.

(4) To make or have an indirect reference to or bearing on; tend or incline toward (usually followed by toward, at etc).

(5) To be not quite straight, off-centred; to deviate from a true line; to run obliquely; askew, not level (as an intransitive verb in Scots English).

(6) In radio transmission, the angle by which the transmission-signal is offset from the normal of a phased array antenna.

(7) To cause to squint; cause to look obliquely.

(8) An act or instance of squinting.

(9) In informal use, a quick glance.

(10) An indirect reference; an inclination or tendency, especially an oblique or perverse one.

(11) In church architecture, a narrow oblique opening in a wall or pillar of a church to permit a view of the main altar from a side aisle or transept (also known as a hagioscope).

1350-1400: A variant of the earlier Middle English asquint, it was used first as an adverb in the sense of “with a squint; askant, the adjectival sense emerging in the 1570s and applied to the eyes, meaning “looking different ways; looking obliquely”.  The familiar modern meaning “looking indirectly, looking askance” dates from the 1610s.  The noun use (non-coincidence of the optic axes, permanent tendency to look obliquely) was a development from the adjective and came into use in the 1650s while the idea of a “sidelong glance” appeared a decade later.  Squint is a noun & verb, squinter & squintingness are nouns, squinty & squintless are adjectives, squinting is a noun & verb, squinted & squintest are verbs and squintingly is an adverb; the noun plural is squints.

Squint was not found in Middle English and the Middle English asquint has been traced to the early thirteenth century where it was used to mean “obliquely, with a sidelong glance” and is of uncertain origin although etymologists seem certain it was derived from some word related to or meaning “slope, slant, acute angle” although there are no surviving texts in which instances of use have survived.  This was also the French équinter (cut to a point) and the French dialectal esquintar & squintar (cast a glance, look furtively) and there may be a relationship but again, no documents exist to establish a link.  The Australian slang verb squiz was in use by at least 1916 (apparently with a civilian rather than military origin) and meant “to look at” (without any suggestion of it being “a quick look” and it may have been a portmanteau word, a blend of squi(nt) and (qui)z although the “quiz” part has never been explained and it may have the “z” was used just for the attractiveness of the sound.

Joe Biden with Ray-Ban Aviators (left) and without, squinting.

Joe Biden (b 1942; US president since 2021) is often photographed wearing a pair of Ray-Ban, gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses and they’ve become one of his signature accessories.  In less unhappy times he presented a custom pair of aviators to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (b 1952; president or prime minister of Russia since 1999) along with a crystal sculpture of an American bison, the US national mammal.  Gift giving between heads of governments is a centuries-old tradition and it’s not known what the US gave Imran Khan (b 1952; prime minister of Pakistan 2018-2022); those interested should probably check eBay.  When Mr Biden isn’t wearing his Ray-Bans, he’s often pictured squinting and there has been speculation about the reason for this: (1) his eyes could be highly sensitive to light, (2) he may suffer from a mild case of strabismus (an imbalance in the muscles controlling eye movement) or (3) he may have difficulty focusing on the teleprompter he needs to use because his cognitive decline has reached the point where he can no longer remember what he needs to say and he’s too old to learn how to sync his speech with the prompting his staff could provide through an earpiece.  His decline may accelerate and, if re-elected in 2024, he’ll be 86 when his term ends so there’s plenty of time for him to deteriorate to the point a clinician would pronounce senility.  Over the centuries, the world has had a few heads of state or government who variously have been (1) a bit vague, (2) senile or (3) barking mad but few of them have had their own nuclear arsenal.

Heads of state squinting: Kim Jong-un (Kim III, b 1982; Supreme Leader of DPRK (North Korea) since 2011, left) & Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021, right).

A squint (the partial closing of the eyelids) differs from a stare which is fixedly to look at something or someone.  A less common use (probably obsolete except in literary or poetic use) was to vest something with being “very conspicuous on account of size, prominence, colour, or brilliancy; to stand out; to project; to bristle”.  One can squint while staring but stares can be anything from a squint to something wide-eyed.  Stare was from the From Middle English staren, from the Old English starian (to stare), from the Proto-West Germanic starēn, from the Proto-Germanic starjaną & starāną (to be fixed, be rigid), from the primitive Indo-European ster-.  It was cognate with the Dutch staren (to stare), the German starren (to stare) and the German starr (stiff).  The verb was from the Old English starian (to gaze steadily with the eyes wide open, look fixedly at, be wide-eyed (with madness, awe etc)”, from the Proto-Germanic staren (be rigid (the source also of the Old Norse stara, the Middle Low German & Middle Dutch staren, the Old High German staren  & starren (to stare at), the German starren (to stiffen) & starr (stiff), the Old Norse storr (proud), the Old High German storren (to stand out, project) and the Gothic and staurran (to be obstinate), from the primitive Indo-European root ster- (stiff).  In English, use of the word originally did not imply rudeness.  The phrase “to stare [someone] down dates from 1848 and the first known reference to a “staring contest” is from 1895.  In his memoir (Inside the Third Reich (1969), Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945) claimed that during a communal meal, he once won an informal “staring contest” with Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945), something which presumably be felt compelled to mention because so many of his contemporaries had in their memoirs and interviews commented on “Hitler’s hypnotic gaze”.

If looks could kill: Greta Thunberg (in pink) death-staring Donald Trump.

A frequently seen version of the stare is the so-called “death stare”, the idea being that one is looking at another with a hatred of such intensity it’s suspected one wishes them to die.  The idea of being able to “subject (someone) to the intimidating power of a stare" date from the 1670s and in popular culture, books have been written and films produced with a plotline involving someone able to doom another with nothing more than a stare.  Noted weather forecaster Greta Thunberg’s (b 2003) famous death stare directed at Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021) during the United Nations (UN) climate change summit, New York, September 2019.  Those needing an illustration for a school project about the use of the phrase “If looks could kill” need look no further.  In response, Mr Trump tweeted: “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”  Ms Thunberg trumped Trump’s mockery by adding to her X (the app formerly known as Twitter) profile: “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”

Crooked Hillary Clinton had many reasons to stare at her husband and quite a few were caught on camera.  Analysts suggest that while it's hard to judge, her stares may at times have verged on being "death stares".

Stare is etymologically unrelated to stair (one of or a series of steps; a staircase) which was from the Middle English steire, staire, stayre, stayer, steir, steyre & steyer, from the Old English stǣġer (stair, staircase), from the Proto-Germanic staigriz (stairs, scaffolding), from the primitive Indo-European steyg- (to walk, proceed, march, climb”).  It was cognate with the Dutch steiger (a stair, step, wharf, pier, scaffolding), the Middle Low German steiger & steir (scaffolding) and the German Low German Steiger (a scaffold; trestle).  It was related to the Old English āstǣġan (to ascend, go up, embark), the Old English stīġan (to go, move, reach; ascend, mount, go up, spring up, rise; scale) and the German Stiege (a flight of stairs).  Stairs are used by the Spanish to illustrate the meaning of the word “enigma”: “A fellow who, were one to meet him of the stairs, one couldn’t be sure if he was coming up or going down”.

A sideways glance from Lindsay Lohan, opening night of Club Lohan, Athens, Greene, October 2016.

In the context of human vision, it means briefly to look at something or someone and it has additional senses including (1) To cause light to gleam or sparkle and (2) literally and figuratively to induce something to move obliquely, the idea picked up in cricket to describe the stroke in which the batsman hits the ball with the bat held at a slant (the classic version being the “leg glance”).  The figurative use can extend from the use of the eyes to communicate feelings to making an incidental or passing reflection, often unfavourably, on a topic.  The significance of a glance is its briefness.  The verb was from the Late Middle English glenchen (of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; of a person: to turn quickly aside, dodge), from the Old French glacier, glachier & glaichier (to slide; to slip (from which Middle English also gained glacen (of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; to glide)), from glace (frozen water, ice), from the Vulgar Latin glacia, from the Latin glaciēs (ice), from the primitive Indo-European gel- (to be cold; to freeze).  The noun was derived from the verb and emerged circa 1500, used initially in the sense of “a sudden movement producing a flash” and the familiar modern meaning “a brief or hurried look” dates from the 1580s and this was probably influenced by the Middle English glenten (look askance).  The sideways glance is one effected “from the corner of the eyes”.  For evolutionary reasons, we signal meaning with a variety of non-verbal clues (the so-called “body language”) and usually, when looking at someone, one turns one head in their direction and so one’s glance will be straight ahead.  If one wishing to convey one is especially interested, one turns one’s whole body to face them.  A sideways glance differs in that it’s an indirect mode of engagement, the most negative form of which is said to be “looking sideways” at someone but most sideways glances are more indicative of being merely uninterested.

Asperger

Asperger (pronounced a-spuh-guh or a-spr-gr)

(1) In neo-paganism and modern witchcraft, a ceremonial bundle of herbs or a perforated object used to sprinkle water (in spells as “witches water”), usually at the commencement of a ritual.

(2) In neurology, as Asperger's syndrome (less commonly Asperger syndrome), an autism-related developmental disorder characterised by sustained impairment in social interaction and non-verbal communication and by repetitive behaviour as well as restricted interests and routines.  The condition was named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906–1980).

Pre-1300: The surname Asperger was of German origin and was toponymic (derived from a geographical location or feature).  The town of Asperg lies in what is now the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, in south-west Germany and in German, appending the suffix “-er” can denote being “from a place”, Asperger thus deconstructs as “someone from Asperg” and in modern use would suggest ancestral ties to the town of Asperg or a similar-sounding locality.  Etymologically, Asperg may be derived from older Germanic or Latin roots, possibly meaning “rough hill” or “stony mountain” (the Latin asper meaning “rough” and the German berg meaning “mountain or hill”.  The term “Asperger’s syndrome” was in 1976 coined by English psychiatrist Lorna Wing (1928–2014), acknowledging the work of Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906–1980).  Dr Wing was instrumental in the creation of the National Autistic Society, a charity which has operated since 1962.  Asperger is a noun (capitalized if in any context used as a proper noun).  Aspergerian & Aspergic are nouns; the noun plural forms being Aspergers, Aspergerians & Aspergics.  In the literature, Aspergerian & Aspergic (of, related to, or having qualities similar to those of Asperger's syndrome (adjective) & (2) someone with Asperger's syndrome (noun)) appear both to have been used.  In general use “Asperger's” was the accepted ellipsis of Asperger's syndrome while the derogratory slang forms included Aspie, autie, aspie, sperg, sperglord & assburger, now all regarded as offensive in the same way “retard” is now proscribed.

The noun asperges described a sprinkling ritual of the Catholic Church, the name was applied also to an antiphon intoned or sung during the ceremony.  It was from the Late Latin asperges, noun use of second-person singular future indicative of aspergere (to scatter, strew upon, sprinkle), the construct being ad (to, towards, at) + spargere (to sprinkle).  The use in Church Latin was a learned borrowing from Latin aspergō (to scatter or strew something or someone; to splash over; to spot, stain, sully, asperse; besmirch; (figuratively) to bestow, bequeath something to, set apart for) the construct being ad- +‎ spargō (strew, scatter; sprinkle; moisten).  The origin lay in the phrase Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo et mundabor (Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed), from the 51^st Psalm (in the Vulgate), sung during the rite of sprinkling a congregation with holy water.  Hyssop (any of a number of aromatic bushy herbs) was from the Latin hȳsōpum, from the Ancient Greek ὕσσωπος (hússōpos), of Semitic origin and the idea was would be cleansed of one’s sins.  In the Old English the loan-translation of the Latin aspergere was onstregdan.

The three most recent popes demonstrate their aspergillum (also spelled aspergill) technique while performing the sprinkling rite.  In the more elaborate rituals, it's often used in conjunction with a container called an aspersorium (holy water bucket).  Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022, left), Francis (1936-2025; pope 2013-2025, centre) and Leo XIV (b 1955; pope since 2025, right).

In the Christian liturgy, an aspergillum was used to sprinkle holy water and the borrowing, adaptation and re-purposing of ceremonies, feasts days and such from paganism widely was practiced by the early Church.  In the Bible (notably chapter 14 in the Old Testament’s Book of Leviticus) there are descriptions of purification rituals involving the use of cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool to create an instrument for sprinkling blood or water and historians sometimes cite this as “proto-aspergillum”.  While it seems the earliest known use on English of “aspergillum” dates from 1649, the documentary evidence is clear the practice in the Christian liturgy was ancient and common since at least the tenth century.  Exactly when the ritualistic practice began isn’t known but because water is so obviously something used “to cleanse”, it’s likely it has been a part of religious rituals for millennia before Christianity.

Asperger ceremonial herb bundle.

The use of the “asperger” in neo-paganism & witchcraft was a continuation of the concept and well documented in the remarkably prolific literature (some book shops have dedicated sections) devoted to modern witchcraft and the construction of the objects (a bundle of fresh herbs or a perforated object for sprinkling water) is a lineal descendent of the aspergillum of the Medieval church and that makes sense, both institutions devoted to the process of cleansing although the targets may have differed.  According to Ancient Pathways Witchcraft (which sounds an authoritative source), although it’s the fluid which does the cleansing, the asperger is significant because it symbolizes “the transformative and cleansing properties of water…”, rinsing away “…spiritual debris that might interfere with the sanctity of rituals.”  In both neo-paganism and witchcraft, the herbs used may vary and while, pragmatically, sometimes this was dictated by seasonal or geographical availability, priests and witches would also choose the composition based on some “unique essences” being better suited to “enhance the sacred water's effectiveness”.  Nor were herbs always used for, as in the rituals of the church, “an asperger might be a metal or wooden rod designed with perforations or an attached mesh”, something like a “small brush or a dedicated holy water sprinkler akin to those seen in Christian liturgy.”  Again, it was the sprinkling of the water which was the critical element in the process, the devices really delivery systems which, regardless of form, existed to transform simple water into “a divine medium of purity and transformation.”  That said, their history of use did vest them with tradition, especially when certain herbs were central to a spell.

Dr Hans Asperger at work, Children's Clinic, University of Vienna, circa 1935.

The term “Asperger’s syndrome” first appeared in a paper by English psychiatrist Lorna Wing (1928–2014) although use seems not to have entered the medical mainstream until 1981.  Dr Wing (who in 1962 was one of the founders of the charitable organization the National Autistic Society) named it after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906–1980) who first described the condition in 1944, calling it autistischen psychopathen (autistic psychopathy).  Dr Wing was instrumental in the creation of the National Autistic Society, a charity which has operated since 1962.  The German autistischen was an inflection of autistisch (autistic), the construct being Autist (autistic) +‎ -isch (an adjectival suffix).

Dementia Praecox, oder Gruppe der Schizophrenien (1911) by Eugen Bleuler.

The English word autism was from the German Autismus, used in 1913 by Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939), the first known instance dating from 1907 and attributed by Swiss psychiatrist & psychotherapist Carl Jung (1875-1961) as an alternative to his earlier “auto-erotism” although in his book Dementia Praecox, oder Gruppe der Schizophrenien (Precocious Dementia, or Group of Schizophrenias, 1911) Bleuler differentiated the terms.  The construct of the word was the Ancient Greek αὐτός (autos) (self) + -ισμός (-ismós) (a suffix used to form abstract nouns of action, state or condition equivalent to “-ism”).  Being a time of rapid advances in the relatively new discipline of psychiatry, it was a time also of linguistic innovation, Dr Bleuler in a Berlin lecture in 1908 using the term “schizophrenia”, something he’d been using in Switzerland for a year to replace “dementia praecox”, coined by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin's (1856-1926).  What Dr Bleuler in 1913 meant by “autistic” was very different from the modern understanding in that to him it was a symptom of schizophrenia, not an identifiably separate condition.  In the UK, the profession picked this up and it was used to describe “a tendency to turn inward and become absorbed in one's own mental and emotional life, often at the expense of connection to the external world” while “autistic thinking” referred to those who were “self-absorbed, fantasy-driven, and detached from reality; thinking patterns, commonly seen in those suffering schizophrenia.”

Looking Up was the monthly newsletter of the International Autism Association and in Volume 4, Number 4 (2006), it was reported Lindsay Lohan’s car had blocked the drop-off point for Smashbox Cares, a charity devoted to teaching surfing to autistic youngsters.  Arriving at the designated spot at Malibu’s Carbon Beach, the volunteers were delayed in their attempt to disembark their charges, something of significance because routine and predictability is important to autistic people.  To make up for it, Ms Lohan staged an impromptu three hour beach party for the children, appearing as a bikini-clad DJ.  Apparently, it was enjoyed by all.

Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact (1943) by Leo Kanner.

The modern sense of “autistic” began to emerge in the 1940s, among the first to contribute the Austrian-American psychiatrist Leo Kanner (1894–1981) who in 1943 published a paper using the phrase “early infantile autism” to describe a distinct syndrome (which now would be understood as autism spectrum disorder).  The following year, in Vienna, Dr Asperger wrote (seemingly influenced by earlier work in Russia) of his observational studies of children, listing the behaviors he associated with the disorder and unlike some working in the field during the 1940s, Dr Asperger wasn’t wholly pessimistic about his young patients, writing in Autistic Psychopathy in Childhood (1944): “The example of autism shows particularly well how even abnormal personalities can be capable of development and adjustment. Possibilities of social integration which one would never have dreamt of may arise in the course of development.”  Many of the documents associated with Dr Asperger’s work were lost (or possibly taken to the Soviet Union) in the chaotic last weeks of World War II (1939-1945) and it wasn’t until Dr Wing in the 1970s reviewed some material from the archives that his contributions began to be appreciated although not until 1992 did “Asperger’s Syndrome” became a standard diagnosis.

DSM IV (1994).  Not all in the profession approved of the reclassification of Asperger’s syndrome under the broader Autism Spectrum Disorder, believing it reduced the depth of diagnostic evaluation, flattened complexity and was disconnected from clinical reality.  There was also regret about structural changes, DSM-5 eliminating the multiaxial system (Axes I–V), which some clinicians found useful for organizing information about the patient, especially Axis II (personality disorders) and Axis V (Global Assessment of Functioning).

Asperger’s Syndrome first appeared in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) classification system when it was added to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, 1994) and the utility for clinicians was it created a sub-group of patients with autism but without a learning disability (ie characterized by deficits in social interaction and restricted interests, in the absence of significant language delay or cognitive impairment), something with obvious implications for treatment.  In the DSM-5 (2013), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was re-defined as a broader category which combined Asperger syndrome, Autistic Disorder & PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) into a single ASD diagnosis, the editors explaining the change as a reflection of an enhanced understanding of the condition, the emphasis now on it being something with varying degrees of severity and presentation rather than distinct types.

However, although after 2013 the term no longer appeared in the DSM, it has remained in popular use, the British military historian Sir Antony Beevor (b 1946) in Ardennes 1944 (2015, an account of the so-called "Battle of the Bulge") speculating of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (First Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, 1887–1976) that "one might almost wonder whether [he] suffered from what today would be called high-functioning Asperger syndrome."  The eleventh release of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (ICD-11) aligned with the DSM-5 and regards what once would have been diagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome to be deemed a relatively mild manifestation of ASD.  The diagnostic criteria for ASD focus on deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as repetitive behaviors and interests.  Although no longer current, the DSM IV’s criteria for Asperger's Disorder remain of interest because while the label is no longer used, clinicians need still to distinguish those in the spectrum suffering some degree of learning disability and those not so affected:

DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s Disorder (299.80).

A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

(1) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction.

(2) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.

(3) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (eg by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people).

(4) lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

(1) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus.

(2) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals.

(3) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (eg hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements).

(4) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.

C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (eg single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).

E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

The term in the twenty-first century became controversial after revelations of some of Dr Asperger's activities during the Third Reich (Austria annexed by Germany in 1938) which included his clinic in Vienna sending selected children to be victims of Aktion T4 (a mass-murder programme of involuntary euthanasia targeting those with disabilities), an operation which ran at times in parallel with the programmes designed to exterminate the Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and others.  While there is no surviving documentary evidence directly linking Dr Asperger to the selection process which decided which children were to be killed, researchers have concluded the records suggest his construction of what came later to be called “Asperger’s syndrome” was actually that very process with an academic gloss.  Because those Dr Asperger so categorized were the autistic children without learning difficulties, they were thus deemed capable of being “cured” and thus spared from the T4’s lists, unlike the “uneducable” who would never be able to be made into useful German citizens.  While the surviving material makes clear Dr Asperger was at least a “fellow traveller” with the Nazi regime, in professional, artistic and academic circles there was nothing unusual or even necessarily sinister about that because in a totalitarian state, people have few other choices if they wish to avoid unpleasantness.  However, it does appear Dr Asperger may have been unusually co-operative with the regime and his pre-1945 publication record suggests sympathy with at least some aspects of the Nazis’ racial theories and eugenics.

Efflux & Afflux

Efflux (pronounced ef-luhks)

(1) Outward flow, as of water.

(2) Something that flows out; effluence.

(3) A passing or lapse of time.

(4) A passing away; expiration; ending.

(5) Death (obsolete).

1635–1645: From the Medieval Latin effluxus, noun use of past participle of effluere (to flow out), from effluō (flow out or away), the construct being ef- (an alternative form of ex- (out of; from) used when combined with f-initial words)) + fluc- (a variant stem of fluere (to flow) from fluō (flow) + -sus, (for -tus;suffix of action).  The synonyms (in the sense of “the process of flowing out”) include outflow, effluxion & effluence; the antonyms is influx (in the sense of “the process of flowing in”).  The present participle is effluxing, the simple past and past participle is effluxed and the plural is effluxes.

Afflux (pronounced af-luhks)

(1) Something that flows to or toward a point.

(2) The act of flowing to or toward; flow.

(3) In medicine, a flowing towards an area, especially of blood or other fluid toward a body part such as the brain or lung.

(4) In hydrology, the rise in water level (above normal) on the upstream side of a bridge or obstruction caused when the effective flow area at the obstruction is less than the natural width of the stream immediately upstream of the obstruction.

1605–1615: From the Medieval Latin affluxus (the flow of blood from the heart to part of the body), from afflūxum (supine of affluō (to flow towards)), noun use of past participle of affluere (present active infinitive of affluō), from fluxus (flux), from fluō (flow) +‎ -tus (the action noun-forming suffix).  The most common related forms in Latin were affluĕre & affluxum.  The plural is affluxes.

The phrase “effluxion of time” is used often as a fancy way to say “the passing of time” but it has a specific technical meaning in law, most often seen in contracts such as leases.  When used in conveyances, leases and similar deeds, it indicates the conclusion or expiration of an agreed length of time specified in the deed or writing, such conclusion or expiration arising in the natural course of events, as opposed to the sundering of the term by the acts of (at least one of the) the parties or by some unexpected event.  This phrase can be used also to indicate the conclusion or expiration of an agreement in simple writing when the conclusion or expiration occurs through a natural course of events.

As nouns the difference between affluxion and effluxion is that affluxion is the act of flowing towards and effluxion the process of flowing out.  The distinction is an important one in the technical language of disciplines such as pathology, hydrology, medicine and others who deal with specifics of fluid dynamics but in the matter of time they should be interchangeable (and therefore one should be unnecessary).  Despite the suggestions of cosmologists, theoretical physicists and other specialists that other possibilities exist, lawyers insist time is lineal, flows in one direction and is, for all legal purposes, constant.  The phrase “effluxion of time” would therefore appear to cover all circumstances but “affluxion of time” does exist in the legal record.  It appears to be a North American variant, noted in at least three examples, two from a lease and a option plan, both apparently drafted in the US, the third appearing in a consulting agreement, executed in Canada. 

Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Landlord shall be under no obligation to repair or maintain the Tenant’s installations, alterations, additions, partitions and fixtures or anything in the nature of a leasehold improvement made or installed whether by the Tenant or by the Landlord on behalf of the Tenant; and further, notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Landlord shall have the right upon the termination of this Lease by affluxion of time or otherwise to require the Tenant to remove its installations, alterations, additions, partitions and fixtures or anything in the nature of a leasehold improvement made or installed by the Tenant or by the Landlord on behalf of the Tenant and to make good any damage caused to the Leased Premises by such installation or removal.

“Vested” shall mean, in relation to all or any part of the option, as appropriate, when any relevant condition (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the affluxion of time) has been satisfied, as confirmed by the Board of Directors (or, where relevant, waived) and “Vesting” and “Vest” shall be construed accordingly. For the avoidance of doubt, unless stated otherwise, any part of the option which Vests does not automatically become exercisable.

In the event this Agreement is terminated for any reason whatsoever, whether by affluxion of time or otherwise, the Consultant shall forthwith upon such termination return to the Corporation each and every copy of any Confidential Information (including all notes, records and documents pertaining thereto) in the possession or under the control of the Consultant at that time.

An analysis of the text does suggest it may have been a mistake, perhaps a transcription from dictation or a quirky spell-checker because substituting effluxion for affluxion seems not to affect meaning.  Those who found those three paragraphs a bit turgid can be assured things used to be worse and that as written, this text is a reasonable example of legal writing in “plain English”.

Lindsay Lohan's hair styles: Landmarks in the effluxion of time, 2002-2009.