The words they are a-changing

As Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a-changing."  I'm saying that our words are changing, too.  My pet peeve is that celebrities are no longer stunning.  Oh, no!  Now celebrities just stun.  There's no object in that sentence, and that's what stuns me.

Here's a chart showing how we use verbs in the English language.  Verbs that need an object are called "transitive verbs"; verbs that don't have an object are called "intransitive verbs."  For example, nobody says, "I bought."  We'd be waiting for them to finish the sentence, wondering, "Bought what?"

In my Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, published in 1991, stun is shown as a "vt" = "verb transitive."  In the Tenth edition, published in 2002, stun is still shown as a "vt."  Now it's 20 years later.  I don't have an updated version, but I can find it online.  The latest (Eleventh) edition, published in 2020, has the word verb standing there all alone.  It is no longer labeled "vt" or "vi."

In the olden days (my days), I guess I'd think of someone using a stun gun to stun someone.  But there's an object in that sentence:  "someone."  We didn't simply stun.  We could be stunned by something, or we could think a thing is stunning.  But we didn't stun without an object.

Word of the Day #1

stun /stən / verb = (1)  knock unconscious or into a dazed or semiconscious state.  Example:  "The man was stunned by a blow to the head."  (2) astonish or shock (someone) so that they are temporarily unable to react.  Example:  "The community was stunned by the tragedy."

Word of the Day #2

stun gun /ˈstən ˌɡən / noun = a device used to immobilize an attacker without causing serious injury, typically by administering an electric shock.

Now I've run into another problem.  What's the difference between a stun gun and a taser gun?  I'm out of my element here, and we'll have to study this chart.  Click to enlarge the illustration.

Word of the Day #3

ce·leb·ri·ty / səˈlebrədē / noun = a famous person; the state of being well known.  Example:  "He's a celebrity chef."

Let me get this straight.  It seems that a celebrity is someone who is well known, and she is well known because she's a celebrity.  My mind is spinning.