VOOZH about

URL: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/to-deign.234356/

⇱ to deign | WordReference Forums

Menu
Install the app
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.

to deign

matar0

Senior Member
Italian, Italy
What's the concrete usage of "to deign"?
Can I say:
The boss deigned to see him
Or:
The boss deigned seeing him.
To my ear deign always takes to, so the first example is correct, and not the second.

It's a hoity-toity word, but it's used often enough to convey the attitude that someone is hoity-toity. He thinks himself above a certain action, but he deigns to do it.
.
I agree with foxfirebrand completely. It's a word that implies an atttitude of condescension on the part of the person who it describes. It is a person of higher status choosing to have some sort of contact with a person of lower status.

As for your examples, the first sentence is a correct use of the word.
To deign someone worthy of something seems to be the most common use of it..

I have not heard "deigned worthy." It doesn't really make sense, according to the word's definition (ex: "condescend: do something that one considers to be below one's dignity".)

Perhaps it's a corruption of "deemed worthy", which is a very common phrase.
Back
Top Bottom