'undertaking' - 'undertaker'

[Tramponline]

... about a discussion form the 'Recruit A Team'-thread that has since been (justifiably) removed by Mods.



Recruit A Team - Warren's ad

@ Warren
@ MsMn


I'm sorry, it might sound nitpicky - but it just bugged me when I read it:


The noun 'undertaking' is a perfectly valid term in this context. In about 90% of all cases it's denotation being: 'enterprise', 'venture' and so forth.

True enough, an 'undertaker' is a person employed at a funeral home.

However, grammatically, there's NO such thing as a correlative verb 'to undertake' denoting “to put someone into the ground”.
'To undertake' means something entirely different.


...looks like MsMn is going to finance the Mittens trip to Italy this year.
With 600 pound sterling you can organize one hell of a parteeè...!?!


PS: ...by the way, I believe Steve was joking when he wrote that comment about the 6 feet under stuff.

[NsMn]

Er... uhm, well, ya see.....


LOOK BEHIND YOU,  A THREE-HEADED MONKEY!!

[Tramponline]

EH? ...turns around

DAMNED!

...why do I always fall for that!!!  


/turns back and tries to engage THREE-HEADED MONKEY in conversation anyway...

[Stupot]

It means the same thing.
Think of it like this.  A man is paid to take up the job of dealing with dead bodies and carrying out funeral arrangement... that's a pretty big 'undertaking'.  OED definitions of the term 'undertaker' include 'one who undertakes a task or enterpise' and 'one who aids or assists'... well that is exactly what the man's job is.  To undertake a rather grizzly and diffifult task.  So the term became used to describe the man's job and eventually became the official title of his occupation.

[Tramponline]

mhmh...exactly...interesting...word!...(nod head/ adopt thinker pose)

(whisper)
...come on guys. Let's grab Stupot and make him pay for this rather insightful comment... 



PS: ...just kidding of course. To clarify the matter: the discussion was raised on whether or not it's appropriate for Warren to use the word 'undertaking' in his call for help post (link first post). Some people assumed, his last sentence was suggesting that he wanted to 'bury' his game, or WORSE: ...that he even might be GERMAN! 

[Kweepa]

PS: ...by the way, I believe Steve was joking when he wrote that comment about the 6 feet under stuff.

Quite right.
Didn't mean for my comment to overtake the thread.

[Stupot]

PS: ...by the way, I believe Steve was joking when he wrote that comment about the 6 feet under stuff.

Quite right.
Didn't mean for my comment to overtake the thread.

Steve, you should get a job as an 'overtaker'.

[NsMn]

It means the same thing.
Think of it like this.  A man is paid to take up the job of dealing with dead bodies and carrying out funeral arrangement... that's a pretty big 'undertaking'.  OED definitions of the term 'undertaker' include 'one who undertakes a task or enterpise' and 'one who aids or assists'... well that is exactly what the man's job is.  To undertake a rather grizzly and diffifult task.  So the term became used to describe the man's job and eventually became the official title of his occupation.

Are you sure? I think the coincidence of "taking/putting someone under the surface" is just too big.

[Stupot]

I'm about 99% sure that's not the case (give or take 1%).
From what I can gather, the word 'undertaker' really does come from the verb 'to undertake' which means to accept or take charge of a task or duty.  I'm pretty sure we'd still call them undertakers even if their job was to hang the dead from trees instead of bury them.