How did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise '?

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How did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise '?

Post by StackExchange »

1. How are these 2 senses of concern related? What semantic notions underlie the popular sense of 'worries', with this esoteric sense of 'commercial enterprise'? I need much more detail than these snippety sentences above.

2. Please trace all semantic shifts from Latin concernō (“I mix, sift, or mingle together, as in a sieve”) to this sense of English ‘concern’? How, and why, did concernō shift to ‘concern’ meaning "an establishment for the transaction of business"?

I never heard of this 'obscure meaning where it means "business"'!


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FYI a "concern" is quite old english for an establishment or business of some kind.
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3. But why use "concern" when "business”, "corporation", or "enterprise" are more intuitive and understandable?
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Re: How did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise '?

Post by Brave »

It's none of your concern/business :mrgreen:
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Re: How did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise '?

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@Brave, please elaborate?
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Re: How did ‘concern’ semantically shift to mean ‘commercial enterprise '?

Post by Brave »

I'm just not sure that there was a real semantic shift since these two sentences are identical in meaning:

It's none of your concern.
It's none of your business.

In general, a concern and a business are both things you worry about (or concern yourself with or busy yourself with).
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