Editor's Corner

Good morning, folks! One of you sent me a speedy Facebook recording of a fellow word nerd a few weeks ago, and I was instantly hooked. Usually, this fellow speaks too fast for me to take notes, or there’s too much for one Editor’s Corner, or the topic might not be that interesting. Well, this time the planets aligned and I went through every minute of his recording. Each of the words he mentioned were originally architectural, but they have evolved over time.

I wrote down each item and have searched for examples of the terms, etymologies, original definitions, and modern definitions.

Today I’m going to start with the word loophole. Historically, a loophole (also called an arrow slit or arrow loop) is “a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.” (Wikipedia)

Here is an example of a loophole. You can see there’s a lot of room for a kneeling archer to aim from, but little area for the enemy to return fire to.

And a view of loopholes from the outside of a castle we saw in Ireland.

But what is a loophole now? Here is a brief explanation of where the word came from and how it changed, from The Grammarist:

The term loophole came into use in the seventeenth century figuratively to mean a small opening or an outlet of escape. It soon became applied to legal issues, allowing those practicing the law to find (or watch for) loopholes or ambiguities in the law that could be applied to court matters.

Today the term is used almost exclusively in reference to the law or in legal documents.

Examples:

• Many loopholes in tax laws allow people to take advantage of certain credits to get more money back.
• My landlord tried to evict me over keeping a cat in the apartment. But luckily, my cat and I were able to stay due to a loophole in my contract stating no dogs were allowed, with no mention of cats.

Isn’t English interesting? I love taking the voyage from where a word starts to where it ends up. And of course, this may not be the end of the word’s journey. Check back with me in a few hundred years and I’ll let you know what happened!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/