海角大神

During the Olympics, athletes compete for the gold medal in each sport. It would seem that competition is a battle, a zero-sum game in which there is only one winner. But in recent years, in an attempt to put a more positive spin on the word, authors and athletes have mined 肠辞尘辫别迟颈迟颈辞苍鈥檚 etymology, looking for a more cooperative definition in which participants spur each other to improve, to perform at their highest level.聽 聽

For example, in his book, 鈥淭he Heart of Running,鈥� triathlete Kevin Everett explains that competition derives from the Latin com- (鈥渢ogether鈥�) and petere (鈥渢o seek鈥�). Competition is thus 鈥渢o strive together for the attainment of something. ... True competition is striving for excellence together.鈥� This is a wonderful reframing of what it means to compete 鈥� but is this the actual origin of the word, and does it matter?

The etymology Mr. Everett supplies is misleading. Com- does indeed mean 鈥渨ith鈥� in Latin, and one meaning of petere is 鈥渢o seek鈥� 鈥� it is the source of the English word petition, a formal request. Going back even further, however, the root pet- indicated 鈥渢o rush, to fly鈥� or 鈥渢o fall upon.鈥� This endowed petere with many meanings: 鈥渢o attack,鈥� 鈥渢o let fly [a spear, etc.]鈥� 鈥渢o embrace鈥� (as in 鈥渢o fall upon one鈥檚 neck鈥�), 鈥渢o beg, entreat,鈥� as well as 鈥渢o seek.鈥� Thinking about聽competition as 鈥渁ttacking together鈥� is, however, not as inspiring.

There are a few instances where com+petere produces a verb that can be defined as 鈥渢o strive after something ... in company or together,鈥� but these are not found in classical Latin and are 鈥渧ery rare,鈥� according to Lewis & Short鈥檚 Latin dictionary. The noun competitor was more common, especially in a political context. In ancient Rome you didn鈥檛 鈥渞un for鈥� office, you would 鈥渟eek鈥� it, so a candidate was called a petitor. The other candidates were your competitors, since they were seeking the same office 鈥渨ith鈥� you. Though a literal translation of competitor is 鈥渃o-seeker,鈥� the Latin word had no connotations of working together.聽

Redefining the word competition as 鈥渟triving together for a common goal鈥� seems to be cherry picking the evidence. It is also an example of what philologists and philosophers call the etymological fallacy, 鈥渢he idea that knowing about a word鈥檚 origin, and particularly its original meaning, gives us the key to understanding its present-day use,鈥� according to the Oxford Handbook of Etymology.

Like many writers, I am drawn to re-imagining competition as a cooperative process that raises everybody up, rather than a battle that leaves only one standing. We鈥檒l have to look beyond the word鈥檚 history to support that argument.