Chaucer's Use Of The Word Inspired

Inspire

The word inspire is commonly used in the modern North American English. However, the way in which inspire is used is vastly different than how the world was used historically. Specifically, the way in which inspired is used today, is very different than what it meant to represent in line six of the general prolog of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, “Inspired hath in every holt and heeth”. I interpret Chaucer's use of the word inspired as to mean to breathe life into, whereas our modern definition has the literal meaning to breathe air into, and the figurative definition of to imbued with the spirit to do something. Most commonly in modern English inspire is used in the metaphorical sense, whereas in Chaucer’s writing inspire was used in its literal form. By combing through the historical progression of inspire, we can begin to understand how the figurative definition of inspire developed and became the accepted

This term is derived from the Old French word inspiration which is literal and means “inhaling, breathing in; inspiration." Which originated from the-the 1200 Latin verb inspire, which means to "blow into, breathe upon. " As we enter into Middle English, that of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the word inspire sees little change in its original definition from the old French language (Online Etymology Dictionary). Based on the Oxford English Dictionary, there were multiple definitions of the word inspire, As early as the 1390s the work inspire was meant in a figurative sense like that of the modern English language. For example in J. Gower writing, Confessio Amantis II. 75 used the word inspire to mean to influence, animate, or person with a feeling, idea, impulse, etc., which is very similar to the modern usage of the word. However, based on the use of inspire in Chaucer's Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,