My nephew mentioned he was watching French films and writing up summaries to submit for extra credit in French class. I started thinking about extra. Where did it come from, what does it mean today? (I think I’ll have to do a whole other entry on how the meanings of words change over time.)
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary it comes from the Latin, “extraordinarius” meaning “out of the common order.” That seems innocuous enough, lots of things could be out of the common order. Today, we use it almost exclusively as a superlative–not just out of but above the common. Extra is better.
Is it better? When we go the extra mile for people, that’s likely a good thing. But are we really getting something for nothing when we see “extra 25% free” on a shampoo bottle? Is watching French films with English subtitles helping my nephew learn French? What if he watches 100 films, can he get above full credit for the course?
Is working extra hard as good as getting extra sleep? Do teachers relish the opportunity to grade extra credit assignments or is it just more work for them? Does doing/going/giving extra lead to success, mitigate failure, have any bearing at all?
I’ve asked a couple of people about the feelings conjured by the word “extra”. One said it depends on the circumstance, another said extra is just a fancy way to say sucking up and nobody likes a suck up.
I would love to hear what you think…I hope you’ll take an extra couple of minutes and share your thoughts.
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