Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald
Actually, gift is a valid verb, albeit a wee bit archaic, that dates back at least as early as the mid 16th century. Most decent, preferably older, dictionaries will tell you this. 'Tis interesting that give, which probably originated in the 13th century survived whereas gift, as a verb, has fallen into disuse even though it continues on as a noun.
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We need to look at the different flavors of English in use around the world. True, the verb 'gift' has fallen out of use in British and American English. (I don't know about Australian...)
However, in Indian English 'gift' as a verb is very much alive and well. You hear it all the time. They also use charming words such as 'prepone' and 'rusticate', no longer used in most other flavors of English.
Back to the thread subject -- I'm just learning about the wonderful world of eBooks after years of being a librarian and a reader. I think it's fascinating to see the changes that are happening, and will continue to happen. As somebody else said, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that Amazon and others find a way to allow the 'gifting' of eBooks to others in the near future. They've always been good at identifying a need and then filling it. In the meanwhile, I'll personally stick with gift certificates.
