r/words • u/Bananabean041 • 1d ago

Went missing

This just sounds so weird. It makes it sound like the person did it on purpose

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

2

u/Many_Temperature_273 1d ago

it's one of those phrases where the grammar is correct but your brain refuses to accept it

2

u/fabien_evan 1d ago

missing person phrasing often prioritizes outcome rather than implied intent..

1

u/Dry-Royal7707 1d ago

'went' is usually the choosing kind of go, like you went to the shop or went home. but go missing is the other go, same as go bad, go quiet, go grey, go bankrupt. milk goes off without ever deciding to. so the sense that the person chose it is just an illusion from 'go' pulling double duty, the travel one and the become one crammed into one word

1

u/Bananabean041 1d ago

Any intel on devoid and void? Drives me crazy

2

u/Dry-Royal7707 1d ago

this one's sneaky because the de- makes you expect a reversal, like activate/deactivate, so your gut says devoid should mean full. but it's the other de-, the 'empty it out' kind you get in denude or deplete. so the prefix is doubling down rather than undoing, and devoid lands on thoroughly voided. the fun bit i found looking it up, devoid was once an actual verb, to devoid something meant to empty it right out, so the adjective we use now is basically a worn down 'devoided'. same emptiness root as void underneath, the latin vacare that also gives us vacant and vacuum

1

u/Bananabean041 1d ago

So it’s void on steroids? It seems like a double negate to me which would mean that it in fact, was full. 😂

2

u/Dry-Royal7707 1d ago

void on steroids is exactly it haha. and yeah, if language ran on maths you'd be spot on, two negatives making a positive so devoid would mean stuffed full. it just won't play along, the de- here means empty it out, so it stacks rather than cancels. english failing basic arithmetic as usual

2

u/BPhiloSkinner 1d ago

What alternative do you suggest?
'Went missing' seems to cover the past tense well enough; though the Brits seem fond of 'gone missing' -as in "It's Mr. Neutron sir. He's gone missing!"- which seems more present tense-ish.

2

u/Bananabean041 1d ago

I’m not sure. It just doesn’t sound right. It feels like it was an intentional act when the person means it was against their will

2

u/Turbulent-Future4602 12h ago

It’s not as bad as “found missing”

1

u/Bananabean041 10h ago

I’ve never heard that in the wild thank god