3.1. Grand and deadly – their original meanings

In order to be able to understand the semantic change of grand and deadly which has taken place in Hiberno-English, it is important to consider their original meanings used in standard British English. Hiberno-English, a dialect spoken in Ireland, developed after the Norman Invasion in the 12th century and the following English colonisation from the 16th to the 20th century. Although Irish and English are both official languages, English remains the main language spoken in Ireland up to present times. In the following, a short summary of the words’ etymologies and their meanings based on their entries in the Oxford English Dictionary will be given.

The word grand was first used in the 15th century. Different forms of spelling included <graunt(e)>, <grawnt(e)> or <graund>. It derives from Old French grand, which in turn descends from Latin grandis. While the Latin original made its way into almost every Romance language, it referred initially to “a full-grown, massive, big object” (OED s.v. grand forms and etymology).

However, the English use of grand as an adjective differs to a certain extent from the Latin origin. Firstly, it was used in official titles, but also in people’s descriptions which characterize someone as “Chief over others, highest in rank […] 1781 Truth ‘No grand inquisitor could worse invent’ (OED s.v. grand (2))” or “pre-eminent” (OED s.v. grand (3)). Also, grand can express something “principal, chief […] opposed to petty or common” in a legal context (OED s.v. grand (4)). Secondly, beside the ranking connotation, grand can be used to describe “things, events, etc. [as] great or important […]; main” (OED s.v. grand (5)). A more specific use of the second meaning is main “with reference to physical magnitude […]” (OED s.v. grand (7)). Grand could thereby highlight the magnificence of the size or impressiveness “of a specified part of a building, [e.g.] 1860: G. A. Sala Baddington Peerage: ‘On the grand staircase there were rows of exotic plants in boxes’ “(OED s.v. grand (7)). Additionally, “a ceremony, public performance, or the like” (OED s.v. grand (9)) can be described as grand when one wants to refer to their “great solemnity, splendour […] and great form” (OED s.v. grand (9)). Just as grand can refer to the sublimity of people and their possessions, meaning “fine, splendid […] of high social position” (OED s.v. grand (09)). Alluding to the emotional effect of things, grand can characterize objects, architecture, ideas, design, etc. as something which is “impressing the mind with a sense of vastness and magnificence; imposing by reason of beauty coupled with magnitude” (OED s.v. grand (10)). In general, it can be used as a term expressing strong admiration (cf. OED s.v. grand (11)). The only fixed idiomatic meaning of negated grand is more recent and describes a person as “indisposed, unwell, e.g. 1960 H. Pinter Room ‘I told him you hadn’t been too grand” (OED s.v. grand (10e)).

Summarizing the different meanings of grand, ‘main’, ‘great’, ‘impressive’ or ‘excellent’ can be named as the most adequate synonyms, depending on the specific context. Generally speaking, grand has a very positive and affirmative connotation. It expresses a strong feeling of admiration for a person’s, event’s or object’s particularity.

Deadly, on the other hand, derives from the Old English word déadlíc which is related to Old High German totlich and Middle Dutch doodlick. Many variations evolved during the Middle English period, including e.g. deadlich, dedlych or dedly, as well as deadly which survived up to present times (cf. OED s.v. deadly forms and etymology).

Beside the obsolete meanings of deadly which entail the reference to the mortality of human beings or an inanimate state, it generally describes something as being able to cause death, just as “mortal” or “fatal” (OED s.v. deadly (4)). It can also refer to an object’s state which resembles death in various aspects. Thus, deadly can mean “pale like that of a corpse” when referring to someone’s skin colour or “death-like in unconsciousness [and] […] death-like in darkness, gloom, dullness, silence” (OED s.v. deadly (7)).

Finally, deadly can be used in a more colloquial sense when one wants to describe something as “terrible [or] awful, 1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present IV 362: ‘Why such deadly haste to make money?’” (OED s.v. deadly (8)).

Therefore, deadly has in general a thoroughly negative connotation as it either refers to something related to death or in a slightly bleached sense to something bad.

Having explained the meanings of grand and deadly, the following survey aims to find out in what particular way the Irish English use of these words differs from the listed meanings above.

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