THE Countdown star and etymologist Susie Dent has once again drawn attention to a much-underused Scots word.
Dent, who is best known as the adjudicator in Channel 4’s long-running gameshow Countdown, shares her word of the day on X/Twitter, often spotlighting Scots words.
On Tuesday, she appeared inspired by feelings of midweek exhaustion and chose “depooperit”.
She said: “Word of the day is ‘depooperit’ (18th-century Scots): exhausted and enfeebled both mentally and physically.”
When asked if the word was the likely origin of the term “pooped” (meaning tired), she added over time it may indeed have morphed into the more contemporary term.
Word of the day is ‘depooperit’ (18th-century Scots): exhausted and enfeebled both mentally and physically.
— Susie Dent (@susie_dent) February 27, 2024
She said: “Possibly by association, but it started out as ‘depauperit’, so ‘made a pauper’, i.e. impoverished.
“It then took on that figurative meaning of total depletion.”
Many took to social media to share that they were familiar with feeling depooperit.
“I feel like that having endured a Tory Government for the last 14 years,” said one.
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Another simply said: “I feel seen”.
Others, meanwhile, took the opportunity to praise the Scots language for its rich vocabulary.
One said: “Word of the day? That’s the word of the decade.”
While another proud Scot said: “We really did invent all the best words, if I do say so myself”.
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