The reason it sounds odd is that we don't have many verbs ending in -xt. But we do have verbs ending in -x (like "fix") which in their past tense sound like -xt. In fact the past of "fix" was spelled "fixt" for a while. Therefore, when you say "texted", your brain thinks you're being redundant with the ending. Something similar happened with the word "skate" which was originally "skates" in the singular, but people thought "skateses" sounded wrong in the plural so eventually they dropped the final -s in the singular.
As frequent visitors to Wordlady, you will know that you can't object to the verb "text" on the grounds that the word is really a noun, not a verb (see my "Verbs: it's ok to do this. Really!" post). But you may think nonetheless that this is a darned newfangled word. Get ready for a surprise: the first evidence we have for "text" as a verb is from... 1599!
Back then it meant either "write in large or capital letters" (an example in Much Ado About Nothing is: "Yea and text vnder-neath, here dwells Benedick the married man") or "cite a text to" (a bizarrely current-sounding example from 1615 is "When his wench told him that he kissed like a Clowter, he could text her"). Although these meanings died out after about a century, a Victorian job-seeker could still make his job pitch in 1884 as follows:
"Wanted, a re-engagement as Engrossing and General Clerk‥excellent writer and texter".Not something one is likely to see on a CV these days, no matter how true it may be. However, with more employers looking for social-media savvy types, who knows?
Even the current meaning of "text" has been around longer than you probably think: the Oxford English Dictionary's current first evidence for it is from 1998.
The word "text" has a fascinating etymology. Look for it in an upcoming Wordlady "Word of the Week."
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I wish you would tackle the "tack" problem. Once again yesterday I heard a CBC announcer say "he took another tact".
ReplyDeleteThey're on the wrong tack! Steer them right!
Thank you.
steer them correctly?
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteHave the "interesting"/"funny" check boxes been done away with ? Or it's my computer ?
Thank you.
Hello Michele, thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't even noticed that happening. How interesting. Will definitely look into it and post something.
ReplyDeleteHello ET and others. I did get rid of the check boxes because not many people were using them and I thought the space would be better used for something else.
ReplyDeleteI might object less to "text" as a verb if there weren't already a useful verb for what's being done: send. We can send a message or read a text, but do we have to use text as something other than a noun?
ReplyDeleteHello Greg, thanks for your comment. When you think about it, though, couldn't you make the same objection to "phone" and "fax" and even "mail" for that matter?
ReplyDeleteSometimes young children read "jumpted" for "jumped" (jumpt) because they think they have to pronounce the "ed". "Texted" sounds as if you're adding something unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Isn't "texting" in it's current meaning a specific activity done with the thumbs on a small hand-held device? Quite different from Shakespeare's texting. And not as general as "sending".
Hi Isobel, of course the meaning of "texting" is different than it was in Shakespeare's time. The point, though, is that "text" has been used as a verb for a very long time.
DeleteI use Orton-Gillingham to teach reading and spelling to students with dyslexia. In my O-G classes, I was taught that when a base word ends in the letter t or the letter d (as in hunt or land), the -ed suffix is pronounced as id/ed. Thus, the past tense of text should be pronounced texted, just as the past tense of hunt is hunted. We hear the -ed in both.
DeleteGreg,
ReplyDeleteIn lieu of all the new technology out today, simply referring to the sending or a message is a little too ambiguous whereas "texting" is more specific. That message you sent, was it a tweet, picture/video message, facebook message, or text message? We eliminate that wordy query by using text as a verb. Hope this helps. Well, I'm off to text my mate. Cheers
what is the problem? I looked at her. I didnt look-ed at her. I texted her. I did not text-ed her. I stopped her. I did not stop-ped her.
DeleteGlad I stumbled upon this site! I was happy to know my past-tense usage of "texted" was correct. I've had this debate with people a few times and I've always felt that using "text" as the past and present tenses made no sense gramatically. You've made a new subscriber.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Thanks, JVee, glad to have been of help!
DeleteSo, you're saying it is ok to say " I texted you yesterday"?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is absolutely ok to say that.
DeleteI've always thought it was spelled "texted" but pronounced "text'd"
ReplyDeletethat is correct, as for all regular verbs ending in -t or -d, the -ed ending is pronounced with the indeterminate schwa vowel
Delete