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Grab The RSSPoring over “Pore” and “Pour”
Some confusion appears to exist regarding the use of pour and pore.
Charlie complains that he has to pour through stacks of badly-written letters to the editor every day.
In this context the word should be pore. The usual idiom is “to pore over.” Apparently the preposition “through” has entered into use, as in the above quotation, and as in this headline in the New York Times:
Teachers Pore Through Stacks Of Possibilities
The verb pore, with the meaning “examine closely,” may derive from two Old English words, a verb, spyrian, meaning “to investigate, examine,” and a noun, spor, meaning “a trace, vestige.”
The noun pore, meaning “an opening in the skin,” is not related to the verb in the expression “to pore over.” The noun comes from a Greek word meaning “a passageway.”
The verb pour, meaning to transfer water or some other substance from a container, came into English by way of Old French from a Latin verb, purare, “to purify.” In ritual practice, objects are purified by pouring water over them. The English word pure comes from Latin purus, “pure.” The Latin verb came from the Latin noun.
Memory device:
Lore is learning, knowledge, doctrine. To become well-versed in computer lore or the lore of magic, or the lore of religion, one must pore over learned tomes.
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20 Responses to “Poring over “Pore” and “Pour””
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But Maeve, you left out “poor.”
In Texas pore, pour, and poor are all pronounced “poar.” If you have trouble saying poar, remember to move your jaw sideways.
So I could pour syrup over my waffles and then pore over them to make sure they were covered in syrup.
Deborah,
So I did.
I pronounce poor, tour and moor all the same, and they don’t rhyme with “or,” but on the radio I often hear announcers and others from the East coast pronounce poor and tour as if they did rhyme with or. I thought the “pore” pronunciation for “poor” was a southern thing.
But…… aren’t over and through both prepositions that are interchangeable ? I’m just a little confused on this.
Thanks;
Rick Minor
Actually, ‘over” and “through” cannot always be used interchangeably.
“Over” means to go from above it. “Through” means to penetrate.
But yes in most scenarios they can be used in place of each other.
Actually, ‘over” and “through” cannot always be used interchangeably.
“Over” means to go from above it. “Through” means to penetrate.
But yes in most scenarios they can be used in place of each other.
Thank you Vismay. I’ve had a head cold for over a week and the “lights” are still not on yet.
I suspect “pore through” has come about as a confused version of “paw through”…
I could pore over my poor pores and then pour pure water over them?
sometimes the english language is just ridiculous.
Lily,
Isn’t life?
Wow! That’s pretty impressive—being cited in the WSJ!!!! Congrats! And that’s a pretty impressive e-book to boot!
Barbara,
Thanks for the enthusiasm.
For those readers who don’t know what you mean about the WSJ:
an article in the Wall Street Journal contains a link to this post about “pore” and “pour.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/10/03/aig-rings-dinner-bell-for-financial-feeding-frenzy/
I knew it wasn’t “pour”, but was wondering if it was “paw”. Was leaning towards “pore” though, so thanks for clearing that up.
You settled an argument (friendly) that we had at our family Christmas gathering. Thanks… even though this means I lost. But, who has really lost who has gained knowledge?
paw – is either an animal paw, or to handle clumsily/sexually etc.
pore – is either a small hole (in skin etc), or to study/meditate/read. A porer.
I pawed my way over the mountain of books to find a good one to pore through.
I’m off to pour a drink for a very poor pauper. lol
Thanks for posting these tips – it’s all a lot clearer to me now (although I still like to think one can paw through a book to read/meditate/focus … like people who read with a guiding finger!)
What if I want to say: “I’m looking forward to getting to know your kids, and pour/pore into their lives”?
Actually, it metaphorically makes sense to “pour” over something since you are encompassing it, steeping in it, penetrating the inner meanings, communing with it, flowing over every speck of it, etc…..
“Pore” does not connote the same as “pour” in this sense, so I object to “pour” being thrown outright.
The dermatologist pored over the poor kid’s pores after pouring himself a bowl of porridge. Am I doing this right?