Turn on / Turn Off / Turn Out

[Thadeus]

Last night I had a candle burning and no other light. When my wife went to blow it out, I asked her to not "turn off the light yet"

which made me wonder, do the phrases "Turn On / Turn Off / Turn Out the lights" have a history older than electric light?

~Thadeus

 

[sleipnir214]

This is not a canonical source, but I remember my maternal grandmother once telling me that the first time she ever heard the phrase, "turn off the light", it was a reference to gas lights when she was a girl.

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[KenCunningham]

I'd suggest that 'put out' might be more appropriate for a candle and was probably used in pre-electricity days.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think that sleipnir214's grandmother is on the right track. Long before electric lighting, gas lights had a knob which you would turn to control the gas flow and to some degree, the illumination. To extinguish the light, you would turn the knob until the flame went out. The turn on/off came into vogue when electric lighting became switched, with only 'on' and 'off' positions.

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[Genimuse]

I would think that "turn on" and "turn off" were quite usable when referencing plumbing in general, as in "turn on the flow" and "turn off the flow," thus easily predating electric light.

Besides which, I can see an argument for "turn out the light" being more likely that "turn off the light," when referencing gas light, but surely the opposite wasn't "turn in the light." I'd think that "on" would be reasonable, again with "the flow" being implied at the end, along with "turn up" and "turn down" the light.

 

[elanor]

Shakespeare confirms KenCunningham's idea about "put out." There's a line in (I think) Othello..."Put out the light, then put out thy light." Been a while since I read the play...
Thanks!
Elanor

 

[Dimandja]

Turn on/Turn Off/Turn Out": ESL 101.

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[SilentAiche]

I shouldn't, but I can't help it...

When a (real newbie) coworker says, "How do I turn on this $#@*&# computer?" my standard reply is "Have you tried talking dirty to it?"

Tim

okay, okay, my giggle threshold is probably lower than most...