What is a "dictionary" definition of the word, vetted?
(In,e.g., "we are wating for the new officials to become vetted".)
Where/how did the word originate?

Hi mujsce-ga,

"vetted" is the past tense of the verb "vet."  A dictionary definition
for "vet" is "to subject to thorough examination or evaluation."

Source:  The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language:
Fourth Edition.  2000.

http://www.bartleby.com/61/86/V0078600.html

You can find more dictionary definitions through the OneLook online
dictionary metasearch site.

http://www.onelook.com/?w=vet&ls=a

This usage is related to "vet" as short for "veterinarian."  The verb
originally applied specifically to a veterinarian's examination of an
animal, and was generalized, perhaps facetiously at first, to apply to
checking people or things.  It seems to be used particularly for
security checks on people.

A note on this Wordorigins Org page says Rudyard Kipling was the first
to generalize the verb to apply to people in 1904.

http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm9.showMessage?topicID=272.topic


Additional Links

The Word Detective mentions this usage in a discussion of
"veterinarian," under the heading "And my neighbor's horse has taken
to chasing cars."

http://www.word-detective.com/040503.html

A discussion of "vet" as a verb by Rob Kyff in the St. Augustine Record.

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/042701/com_0427010076.shtml


Search Strategy

I already knew about the OneLook website.  I also did a Google search for

vet verb examine etymology

to find the other discussions.

I hope this information is helpful.  If any of it is unclear or you
need any further information, please ask for a clarification.

--efn

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Request for Answer Clarification by mujsce-ga on 30 Apr 2004 21:19 PDT

I feel that I received a very good answer to my question, but why is
that "-ga" appended to my sign in name?  I'd like to remove it!

---

Clarification of Answer by efn-ga on 30 Apr 2004 22:17 PDT

As my colleague Pinkfreud noted, the "-ga" suffix is imposed on every
Google Answers user, including researchers.  Presumably, this was an
early decision in the design of the site.  You could express your
preference to answers-support@google.com.

The suffix could be helpful in searching by making Google Answers user
names distinctive.  For example, if you were interested in a user
named "vet," you could search for "vet-ga" and avoid retrieving all
the other uses of "vet" that were not Google Answers user identities.

Some people have used the "-ga" suffix cleverly.  See:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=80023

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=219111

--efn-ga

mujsce,

Everyone registered with Google Answers has -ga appended to their
usernames, even those of us who are Google Answers Researchers. That's
just the way the system is designed. The -ga stands for "Google
Answers." When I first viewed the site, before I became a Researcher,
I looked around, saw all the names ending in -ga, and thought that
everyone here must be from Georgia!

~pinkfreud