Running Bear's December 2025 Coffee Shop

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What is the scent of a cent?
Depends on whose pocket it's been in.

I asked Google and it said this:

late Middle English (denoting the sense of smell): from Old French sentir ‘perceive, smell’, from Latin sentire . The addition of -c- (in the 17th century) is unexplained.

and then this

The 'c' in "scent" is a silent, unetymological addition from the 17th century,


likely influenced by Latin words like sentire ("to feel, perceive") and the pattern of adding 'c' in words like ascent and descent. Originally spelled sent, the 'c' was inserted to make it look more "learned" or to distinguish it from sent (past tense of send), even though it didn't change the pronunciation from the original Old French sentir.





Origin & Evolution


Latin Root: The word comes from the Latin sentire, meaning "to feel, perceive, or smell".


Old French: This became sentir in Old French, and then was adopted into Middle English as sent (without the 'c').


17th Century Change: Around the 1600s, the 'c' was added, possibly due to scholarly attempts to align it with Latin roots (like scientia or sentire) or to create a visual link with words like ascent (from ascendere) and descent (from descendere), which had the 'sc' combination.





The Silent 'C'


The 'c' in scent, science, ascent, and muscle is a relic of a time when the 'sc' combination represented a sound like 'sh' or 'sk', but over time, the 'c' stopped being pronounced, leaving it as a silent marker.


In scent, the 'c' was added purely for spelling aesthetics or association, not because it was ever pronounced differently from the 's' sound.
 


boogietrain94 - Dad jokes are best jokes

Texas Hobo - That's a pretty neat car! My dad works for Linde, will have to find a HO version for my collection.
 
My son has been driving around the Mojave the last few days…
He has done some rail fanning out there and sent me some pics including this one of Bob Terwilliger…

IMG-20251217-WA0005.jpeg
 
What's up with that? Did I miss something
No, that was my first public comment. Wife has RA, and My right hip is acting up. Wife and I feel we need to relocate, Two story house with basement requires the use of steps. A single level living space would make life easier and safer. Secondly, our neighborhood is becoming Orthodox, and the going rate is hard to turn down. We have been at this location 40 years now, and to move is difficult. Biggest question is where to? See what happens in the new year.
 
Hughie: Did you know that the car is really a tank car inside? My dad also worked for Linde after he was discharged from the Marine Corps.
 




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