Isn’t that just a little penetrant?
“Penus” meant the storeroom of the house, and whoever penetrated it had broken in exactly there. And likely helped themselves to the provisions with great relish.
Wait, though — the word wasn’t always negative and culinary. Quite the opposite. Whoever was said to have a “penetrant mind” was considered especially sharp-witted. This flattering label didn’t last long — at some point, apparently, sharp-wittedness got tiresome too.
Penetrant went to work on many attributes that had, until then, gone untouched. Whoever has a penetrant smell to call their own has a personal-hygiene shortfall to answer for. Those standing nearby suffer even more.
The one with the penetrant voice likely has more trouble making new friends. Ears suffer far too much under the vocal output, because loud pushiness rarely counts as a good trait.
Of the original, many-sided, rather positive word Penetranz, only the negative and unpleasant part has survived.
And yet: perhaps penetrance has more faces than everyday usage admits. Isn’t it drive, when someone penetrantly pursues a career and then actually gets it? Someone who doesn’t give up, who doesn’t slink off meekly when the first attempt doesn’t pan out.
Someone who penetrantly insists on human rights. Who penetrantly rejects fascist thinking. Who penetrantly pulls the community along when it grows weary. That’s not a vice. That’s backbone.
Aren’t those the more positive sides of penetrance?
What happened to the word over these two thousand-plus years, that the obvious statement, when it comes to the penetrant-ish, always tips into the negative?
Ah, it probably all depends on the situation. Granted, that has something to it. Anyone who has ever failed to escape a salesman with a diploma in penetrance knows how long five minutes at the front door can feel. Persistence then gets felt as less of a virtue.
When penetrant behaviour shows up as pushy or forward, it becomes unpleasant — or dangerous — above all for the female side of the Homo sapiens.
And still — the word itself can’t be blamed. A term is only the delivery vehicle from mouth to mind. Like any tool, it all comes down to the user, as to how things turn out when it’s put to work.
But at least this much works in penetrant fashion.
And I, for one, will now penetrantly make my way into a fresh, brand-new day.
