Topic: Vetting

We only wish we could have held off until Veterans' Day, but since the question about vetting originated with an equine veterinarian, we figured we'd opt for responsiveness over punning.

Our correspondent told us: "I know what vetting implies: a very thorough exam of livestock on the behalf of a prospective purchaser. It is most common in the equine world and occupies a good portion of my professional time." She continued, "I was curious about when this term started being used outside of the animal kingdom and veterinary realm" . . . before concluding "I sense that the use of the word is becoming more common but that may not be true."

We'll begin where she ended: with prevalence. The verb vet is indeed common outside the veterinary world; some might even call it overused. Outside barns, editors are busy vetting manuscripts and various committees pride themselves on vetting candidates' credentials.

These applications of vet—meaning "to subject to usually expert appraisal or correction;" and "to evaluate for possible approval or acceptance"—first appeared in the early twentieth century. The use of vet familiar to our correspondent—the one meaning "to subject an animal to a physical examination or checkup"—is older by a few decades and had indeed developed from the vet meaning "to provide veterinary or medical care for an animal or person."

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