Sunday Rest: bae. Word Not To Use Today.

A bae (pronounced bay) is a boyfriend or girlfriend.

It's a fairly new word (it seems to have been coined this century) and at first sight it looks as if it might be a useful one.*

But all the same, it's an odd sort of a word. Where has it come from? Has it the sort of derivation that allows it to be used by respectable people?

I mean, you have to be so careful with new words. Is bae at root an acronym? It's certainly better than bog or bag - or gob or gab, for that matter (boyfriend and/or girlfriend, or girlfriend and/or boyfriend).

As it happens, the derivation of the word bae is perfectly respectable.

Though cringe-making. 

Horribly, horribly cringe-making.

And in my opinion it's well worth saying two extra words to avoid it.

Word Not To Use Today: bae. This word is short for baby or babe. 

The word baby may have come about because it's one of the first sound a baby can make.

*Though, having said that, I can't imagine any likely circumstance in which I might use it.