Subject
Subject: Nymphet coinage (cont.)
From
Date
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From: "Kiran Krishna" <kiran@Physics.usyd.edu.au>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
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--
My rough count yields 61 times the word is used in the first half, and
25 odd in the second, with a possible error(positive in the case of the
first figure, negative in case of the second) in both of about 5. I didn't
count words like nymphage and nymph, which would make little difference
(They seem to occur with equal frequency in both parts) in any case. The
usage of nymphet has become increasingly vague. Of the 6 references
quoted by the OED, one is of VN (apparently its inventor, as he claimed),
and another two seem to refer to it (Listener, Jan 8, 1959. Southerly,
1971. If the second is indeed a reference to Lolita, it is inaccurate.) Of
the others, there are two which speak of 'nymphets' aged 19 or 20 (Daily
Mail, January 31, 1959, J. Di Mona, Last Man at Arlington., 1974). Here,
for reference is the full entry:
nymphet [nmft]. [f. nymph sb. + -et1.]
a. A young or little nymph.
1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xi. Argt., Of the
Nymphets sporting there In Wyrrall, and in Delamere.
1616 Drumm. of Hawth. Poems 2 Whose
names shall now make ring The echoes? of whom shall
the nymphets sing?
1855 Singleton Virgil I. 60 Who could the nymphets
sing?
b. A nymph-like or sexually attractive
young girl.
1955 V. Nabokov Lolita (1959) i. v. 18
Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens
who, to certain bewitched travellers, twice or many times older
than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but
nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose
to designate as ` nymphets'.
1959 Listener 8 Jan. 63/2 A whole chorus of what the
author of Lolita calls ` nymphets'.
1959 Daily Mail 31 Jan. 4/4 He is in the thick of an
affair with an idealised nymphet of 20.
1963 Spectator 15 Feb. 199 Two nymphets visit
him together, he orders them both into his bed.
1971 Southerly XXXI. 12 She is..at her first
appearance a shameless nymphet of thirteen already indifferent to
the number of boys who have enjoyed her favours.
1973 J. Di Mona Last Man at Arlington
(1974) 51 Most of the `sales executives' had turned out to be
eighteen- and nineteen-year-old nymphets.
c. attrib. and Comb. in sense b.
1959 Spectator 25 Sept. 406/1 Their `baby doll'
outfits had the nymphet look which has been in fashion this
summer.
1960 Spectator 3 June 804/1 Seems to have
convinced herself that..every nymphet gesture..can be repeated
again and again with ever-increasing success.
1960 Encounter June 86/2 The hero..bails out a
nymphet-loving painter.
1971 Daily Tel. 27 May 8/4 Mother, a randy
alcoholic; father, a seedy, nymphet-chasing Peter Pan.
On Wed, 13 Dec 2000, D. Barton Johnson wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chimene, Jeff" <Jeff.Chimene@etest.com>
> (47 lines) ------------------
> Here are the two references I'll use as "... in the sense of a 'Lolita'."
> "Now I wish to introduce the following idea. Between the
> age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who,
> to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older
> than they, reveal their true nature which is not human
> but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen
> creatures I propose to designate as 'nymphets'."
> and
> "... shorts, halter, with little to halt, bright hair
> -- a nymphet, by Pan!"
>
> According to the OED, nymphet is "A young or little nymph." I didn't copy
> the 1612 usage. If anyone's *really* interested, I'll key it in.
>
> Among the definitions of nymph: "A young and beautiful woman; hence
maiden,
> damsel." The OED categorizes this as a "poetical" definition, surely
> Humbert's choice. His age range is "in the sense", his additional
> "demoniac" connotation is not. Note also that H.'s is a reflexive
definition, and he
> overtly adds a sensual connotation by linking nymphet" and "Pan". The OED
> addresses this sensual aspect in a secondary definition, "in euphemistic
or
> jocular use" citing "1859 Slang Dictionary 69, Nymph of the pave, a girl
of
> the town."
>
> It might also be interesting to track the use of the word. I suspect the
> frequency decreases as the story progresses.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@GTE.net]
> > Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 18:12
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Subject: Nymphet coinage
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > From: "Chimene, Jeff" <Jeff.Chimene@etest.com>
> >
> >
> > > re: "Even the word nymphet, which Nabokov himself coined,..."
> > >
> > > My edition of the OED dates the word to 1612.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Jeff Chimene
> > >
> > EDITOR's NOTE. Interestering, but was it in the sense of a "Lolita"?
>
Cheers!
yours
Kiran
"It is raining now."
-Prof. Donald B. Melrose
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~kiran
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
My rough count yields 61 times the word is used in the first half, and
25 odd in the second, with a possible error(positive in the case of the
first figure, negative in case of the second) in both of about 5. I didn't
count words like nymphage and nymph, which would make little difference
(They seem to occur with equal frequency in both parts) in any case. The
usage of nymphet has become increasingly vague. Of the 6 references
quoted by the OED, one is of VN (apparently its inventor, as he claimed),
and another two seem to refer to it (Listener, Jan 8, 1959. Southerly,
1971. If the second is indeed a reference to Lolita, it is inaccurate.) Of
the others, there are two which speak of 'nymphets' aged 19 or 20 (Daily
Mail, January 31, 1959, J. Di Mona, Last Man at Arlington., 1974). Here,
for reference is the full entry:
nymphet [nmft]. [f. nymph sb. + -et1.]
a. A young or little nymph.
1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xi. Argt., Of the
Nymphets sporting there In Wyrrall, and in Delamere.
1616 Drumm. of Hawth. Poems 2 Whose
names shall now make ring The echoes? of whom shall
the nymphets sing?
1855 Singleton Virgil I. 60 Who could the nymphets
sing?
b. A nymph-like or sexually attractive
young girl.
1955 V. Nabokov Lolita (1959) i. v. 18
Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens
who, to certain bewitched travellers, twice or many times older
than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but
nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose
to designate as ` nymphets'.
1959 Listener 8 Jan. 63/2 A whole chorus of what the
author of Lolita calls ` nymphets'.
1959 Daily Mail 31 Jan. 4/4 He is in the thick of an
affair with an idealised nymphet of 20.
1963 Spectator 15 Feb. 199 Two nymphets visit
him together, he orders them both into his bed.
1971 Southerly XXXI. 12 She is..at her first
appearance a shameless nymphet of thirteen already indifferent to
the number of boys who have enjoyed her favours.
1973 J. Di Mona Last Man at Arlington
(1974) 51 Most of the `sales executives' had turned out to be
eighteen- and nineteen-year-old nymphets.
c. attrib. and Comb. in sense b.
1959 Spectator 25 Sept. 406/1 Their `baby doll'
outfits had the nymphet look which has been in fashion this
summer.
1960 Spectator 3 June 804/1 Seems to have
convinced herself that..every nymphet gesture..can be repeated
again and again with ever-increasing success.
1960 Encounter June 86/2 The hero..bails out a
nymphet-loving painter.
1971 Daily Tel. 27 May 8/4 Mother, a randy
alcoholic; father, a seedy, nymphet-chasing Peter Pan.
On Wed, 13 Dec 2000, D. Barton Johnson wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chimene, Jeff" <Jeff.Chimene@etest.com>
> (47 lines) ------------------
> Here are the two references I'll use as "... in the sense of a 'Lolita'."
> "Now I wish to introduce the following idea. Between the
> age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who,
> to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older
> than they, reveal their true nature which is not human
> but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen
> creatures I propose to designate as 'nymphets'."
> and
> "... shorts, halter, with little to halt, bright hair
> -- a nymphet, by Pan!"
>
> According to the OED, nymphet is "A young or little nymph." I didn't copy
> the 1612 usage. If anyone's *really* interested, I'll key it in.
>
> Among the definitions of nymph: "A young and beautiful woman; hence
maiden,
> damsel." The OED categorizes this as a "poetical" definition, surely
> Humbert's choice. His age range is "in the sense", his additional
> "demoniac" connotation is not. Note also that H.'s is a reflexive
definition, and he
> overtly adds a sensual connotation by linking nymphet" and "Pan". The OED
> addresses this sensual aspect in a secondary definition, "in euphemistic
or
> jocular use" citing "1859 Slang Dictionary 69, Nymph of the pave, a girl
of
> the town."
>
> It might also be interesting to track the use of the word. I suspect the
> frequency decreases as the story progresses.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@GTE.net]
> > Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 18:12
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Subject: Nymphet coinage
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > From: "Chimene, Jeff" <Jeff.Chimene@etest.com>
> >
> >
> > > re: "Even the word nymphet, which Nabokov himself coined,..."
> > >
> > > My edition of the OED dates the word to 1612.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Jeff Chimene
> > >
> > EDITOR's NOTE. Interestering, but was it in the sense of a "Lolita"?
>
Cheers!
yours
Kiran
"It is raining now."
-Prof. Donald B. Melrose
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~kiran