Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
The verb "to bore" existed previously, and the adjective "bored". It was the noun "boredom", which I guess means "the state of being bored", which Dickens coined.
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I was thinking about this some more and reading some of the context around the introduction of the word in
Bleak House. The word "bored" appears fairly closely either side, but I was hoping for some other -dom word that might have given the reader a hint as to the intention.
From
dictionary.com I find four possible meanings given by the -dom suffix:
1. state or condition: freedom ; martyrdom
2. rank or office: earldom
3. domain: kingdom ; Christendom
4. a collection of persons: officialdom
Which one did Dickens actually mean? "In the desolation of Boredom", with - it appears - the Dickens' provided capitalisation, and the word context, we might think that he actually meant domain rather than state. Later he uses the word again in "whose chronic malady of boredom", and also "the prevalent complaint of boredom", and a few more in which domain does not seem to apply. The only other applicable -dom words I find in there are thraldom and freedom, both of which would be state extensions.
I am left wondering if he actually invented two words: the proper noun, Boredom, for the land of the bored, and the other noun, boredom, for the state of being bored.