Our youngest granddaughter is entering the process of weaning off the pacifier, or in our lingo “the sou sou.” When she was younger it wasn’t too important but during the past 6 months the pacifier (technically one of many) has become a part of her visage, like an old cowboy with the roll-your-own hanging from the lip. Mom and Dad are hoping the process goes quickly and smoothly, but we will see. They were called pacifiers because a soother pacified a baby, especially when sleeping.
Pacify is one the oldest of soothing words that floated into English on the tide of the Latin word pax or pac, meaning peace. It arrived in the 15th century and was followed by pacifier and pacific in the subsequent century. By the 20th century the terms pacifist and pacifism came into vogue.
Pacify means to allay the anger or agitation of someone. Parents have spent countless hours over the centuries trying to pacify crying children. During wars one party will often try to pacify the enemy with compromises to halt hostilities.
Pacify can also mean to restore to a tranquil state. The police were called in to try to pacify the commotion after the celebration of the “big” win. Pacify can also imply actions to reduce things to a submissive state. Security officers attempted to pacify the rioting crowds with a show of force.
Synonyms of pacify include appease, placate, mollify, propitiate, and conciliate.
Appease implies quieting insistent demands by making concessions. To end the conflict Ukraine may have to offer something to appease Putin’s territorial ambitions.
Placate suggests changing resentment or bitterness to goodwill. During the strike the company moved to placate the workers with promises of better working conditions.
Mollify involves soothing hurt feelings or rising anger. The politician’s speech mollified the demonstrators by offering to begin an inquiry into the incident.
Propitiate indicates averting anger or malevolence, especially of a superior being. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
Conciliate implies ending an estrangement by persuasion, concession, or settling of differences. The counsellor sought to conciliate the couple’s grievances.
Pacify suggests a soothing or calming. She attempted to pacify his aggravation by offering to do it for him.
CNN analyst Nic Robertson wrote on June 12, 2023, “On the streets, conservative Islamist police held sway and women were banned from driving. The country had got stuck in a cultural time warp ever since its rulers panicked when Muslim radicals stormed Mecca in 1979. The royals feared for their future and pacified the Islamists by giving conservative religious scholars an outsized role in running the Kingdom.”
I know that Mom and Dad want to eliminate the sou-sou from the granddaughter’s life but when she visits with us it pacifies me to have her soothed with it in her mouth. It’s not our job to deal with baby training.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to [email protected]. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
