What does fetch mean?

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten
I notice that your text has nothing whatsoever to do with with fetching someone from a bus station. So, it seems you're off on some other tangent again.

EDIT:
Did you want to know whether that text sounds like spoken English or written English? Did you want to know my opinion on the difference in frequency of usage of the various words in the text? For example, 'extinguish the cigarette' vs 'put out the cigarette'?
.

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

If you want to know whether whole texts sound 'natural' or not, why don't you open a separate thread about that?

Just a suggestion.
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[Yankee]

By the way, I have asked you quite a number of questions that you still have not answered.

[Torsten]

You are right Amy, the initial question of this thread was not about how 'fetch' is used in American or British English. A user just wanted to know what 'fetch' means. That's when you started a discussion about American usage of this verb and I absolutely agree with you when you say that this should have been done in a separate thread. The current thread is called "what does fetch mean?" If you really are interested in providing our users with information on American language usage, you should start a thread which could be called something along this line: "fetch vs. get -- American vs. British English".

What do you think?
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[Alan]

Hi,

While we're in a 'fetch' mode, I thought I'd throw in a couple of other examples of how the word works in my neck of the woods, as they say.

'Fetch up in a place' suggests meet someone or a group of people in a place like a restaurant or bar.

And then there's 'fetching' suggesting 'attractive' used for 'smile' or 'clothes', usually with reference to women.

Just a thought.

Alan
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[Lost_Soul]

[Alan]

Hi Alex,

You're right about the puking meaning but I was just trying to use the delicate meaning!

Alan
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[Torsten]

Here are some more examples that show how the verb fetch is used by our American friend John Grisham:

"Van Thiessen directed his client to the leather chairs while Elke and another assistant scurried around to fetch coffee and pastries."

"He had slept little. He had waited in the darkness on his front porch for the paper to arrive, then ran to fetch it in his pajamas and bathrobe."

"Chap left early to fetch the money."

"Inside, he drank coffee and chatted with the waitress long enough to persuade her to go fetch a local phone directory."

"Ron called him while Doreen ran next door to fetch a neighbor."

"A limo fetched them on the ramp, just a few feet from where they stepped off the plane."

"The Paytons, their cheeks warm from the bubbly, went to their apartment, changed into casual clothes, then drove to the school to fetch Mack and Liza."

"Go upstairs to my office, fetch Mr. Buckley, and lead him into the conference room, where I'll meet him."

"Jonah was still at the office. He began yelling into the phone, then threw it down to go fetch Rodney."

"An assistant finally fetched him and led him down a wide hall lined with spacious offices."

"She became a client of J. Clay Carter when her sister saw the Larkin Gazette and arranged to come fetch her for the screening."

"Whatever she was, she managed to fetch Mr. Carter out of the back faster than anyone in the short history of the firm."

She flashed a smile when she saw me, and said, "Mr. Traynor, so nice of you to come. Please sit. Esau, fetch Mr. Traynor some tea."
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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

Well done. We've established that John Grisham seems to be fond of the word 'fetch'. I suppose that might have something do do with his southern roots.

[Torsten]

Amy, please try to stay on the subject. None of the sentences I quoted have anything to do with the long list of usages you posted. I never have asked for them nor have I asked for dictionary definitions. Why would I do that when I can look them up in dictionaries myself? Where and when did I ask you to give us every single definition of a word? What you have been trying to do is explain to us how a word is NOT used in your neck of the woods without defining where that might be. What I have been trying to do is find out how 'fetch' might be used in American English. Why don't you want to give our forum users the chance to learn more about the usage of certain words? Why do you launch personal attacks on me when I quote sentences written by John Grisham? I have the impression that you are angry because an American writer uses a word differently than the folks in your 'neck of the woods'.
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[Molly]

What I have been trying to do is find out how 'fetch' might be used in American English.

What do you mean by American English, Torsten?

This?

American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US[1]), also known as United States English or U.S. English, is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English

[Molly]

[Torsten]

Molly, in this thread we are trying to answer the question how the verb 'fetch' is used. Would you like to contribute anything to this discussion? You shouldn't be too worried about what I want to know since this thread isn't just about my personal opinion, it's about the usage of a verb.

So if do know something about how the verb 'fetch' is used, why don't you share this information with our forum users?

As for your question, I think your quoted Wikipedia definition of the term "American English" is very accurate and precise and I don't have anything to add to it. If you need a better definition you might want to ask Amy how she defines "American English" since she uses this term quite often and you can find it in her forum signature. Alternatively you can start a new thread about whether we need a new definition of the term and what that definition should look like. In addition, you might want to discuss the definitions of 'dialect', 'register' and 'style'.

By the way, why don't you tell us what you mean by "American English" in this post of yours?
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[Yankee]

[Ralf]

Hi everyone,

One intrinsic and synchronously perceptible reason for the word 'fetch' having no particular use in the US any more may be seen in their discovery of the even simpler and yet beautifully subtle word 'grab'.

'And make sure to grab a bottle of Harper's from the liquor store!"
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