Monday, April 29, 2013

Because because because because beCAUSE


Pretty pleased with myself today.  I used the word "thereof" on a form requesting a CT-scan of a patient's chest.  Being born in the late 20th century, I'm not 100% certain that I actually used in a grammatically correct way.  It was along the lines of, "Patient has diagnosis of condition X but no radiological evidence thereof".

Sweet action.

I wasn't planning in advance to write it like that. I'm pretty tired and the sentence just kind of came out of my pen in an awkward manner which "thereof" seemed to resolve in an elegant flourish.

Despite my uncertainty about correct usage, I'm a fan of these archaic-slash-legalistic adverbs. (Confession: I had to google "thereof" just now to determine that it is an adverb. Hey, it's late and I've been at work for 11 hours now. Shuddup.) So I think I might start using more of them in day to day settings. 

Words that I might try to use more often include, but are not limited to:
  • hereunto
  • heretofore
  • aforementioned (I think I've already used this in an admission note)
  • whereupon (ditto)
Did you notice how sneakily I qualified that list?  I "might try" but am "not limited to" them. In other words, I'll do whatever the hell I like.

Sweet action.

1 comment:

Leon Polokov said...

I have a similar habit, I think it comes from books read in youth or childhood. It feels natural to me and occurs without thought.

For the nonce, some suggestions if I may...

Avaunt
Anon
Ordure
Eftsoons
Marmoreal
Thole
Betimes
Somatic
Betwixt
Evisceration
Forsooth
Howbeit

I imagine it should be entirely possible for you to incorporate most of these into the paperwork of a single day.

Then again you probably have more important things to be doing at work. I know I do.