Zombified

Having given this piece the title “Zombified”, I was compelled to check my suspicions about the etymology of the suffix of this word.

I thought it must come from the latin facere – to do, or make. So, “zombified” signifies (to me, anyway) “made into a zombie”, or “made like a zombie”.

Even though my mother attached the “ified/ify” suffix to any number of nouns as a feature of her idiolect used chiefly with immediate family and close friends – and I therefore have a firm understanding of its meaning – I felt compelled to look up “petrify” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, which had this to say (bold is mine): “petrify (v.) 1590s, from Middle French pétrifier “to make or become stone” (16c.), from Latin petra “rock, crag” (see petrous) + –ficare, from facere “to make, do” (see factitious). Metaphoric sense of “paralyze with fear or shock” first recorded 1771. Related: Petrified; petrifying.petrified (adj.) 1660s, “turned to stone,” past participle adjective from petrify (v.). Figurative meaning “paralyzed (with fright, etc.)” is from 1720.”

There are other “-ify” words too: I think of beautify, solidify, mystify, transmogrify.

Then I dry up.

Then I daydream a bit as my eye catches someone on TV trying on an “amazing” topless wedding dress, and I think to myself that it is a good thing the dress is not on the woman from the previous programme who had a tattoo of the Grim Reaper emblazoned in black across her décolletage. What a thematic conflict that would have been!

I begin to wonder what has happened to my walking thesaurus super-powers.

Identify pops up. Well, I am gratified, but still dissatisfied that the list is not tripping out with its customary speed.

I take a moment to wipe the sweat from my brow. I mean this literally. It is midnight, and the temperature is 25ºC (77ºF). We have two degrees Celsius to go before we hit the forecast minimum of 23ºC (73.4ºF).

Ah yes, the heat wave!

That is the reason for the slowness of the walking thesaurus:

I am zombified!

Allison

P.S. I am too zombified to work this piece of information into the body of my post:
Doug Savage has other delightful Zombie Chicken cartoons which you might like here: http://www.savagechickens.com/category/cartoons/zombie_chicken