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English Language & Usage

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  • Hi, Sven, does MW provide any further explanation? (I have been completely fascinated by the question and) I ended up looking through the 19th century and early 20th century literary usage. (P.G. Wodehouse is the most 'contemporary' author I looked at, and I have not yet looked carefully at the American use.) MW's "Fervor is associated therefore with emotions that express themselves in prayer, contemplation, devotion, preaching, in works of art, or the like" does not seem to be expressed in the usage. Commented Sep 21, 2020 at 21:23
  • Fervour is broader than that - a heated emotion expressed in any circumstances. There isn’t necessarily a reference or an implication that fervour may be longer lasting, steadier than ardour. It is possible, but a reference to a duration may not even be implied. I doubt that there would have been a considerable shift in the time to when the MW that you refer to (1942) must have been edited. Though, of course, they may be speaking of the US usage. Commented Sep 21, 2020 at 21:26
  • ”Fervor and ardor both imply the kindling of emotion to a high degree of heat, but fervor suggests rather a steady glow or burning and ardor a restless or leaping flame.” comes across as a reference to etymology. Then, ardour is flame-like, fervor is boiling-water-like or, simply, very heated, and hence a difference in the characters of the emotions. This makes a great deal of sense. Do the sources discuss anything further in terms of what is the basis for the difference? Commented Sep 21, 2020 at 21:28
  • @Anya: Dictionaries of synonyms tend to be quite succinct in their discussions of similar words—so they can move on to the next entry and keep the dictionary at a reasonable size, I guess. At any rate, I haven't found a dictionary of synonyms that goes into much depth on issues such as the difference between ardor and fervor. Commented Sep 21, 2020 at 21:59
  • Hmm... First, they re-state the etymology (they could have been even more succinct if they said that it stems from etymology), and then they say 'therefore...', however what they say in 'therefore...' does not necessarily follow from an earlier statement (a description of etymology); and a broader look at the usage does not seem to support their view - those are the cases of usage but it is not limited to those. I will try to get a copy/have a look (how often do they refer to etymology without saying so?). I am extremely interested in the topic of 'meaning', in general, so, thank you. Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 21:44