Talk:importunate

importunate
Verb. No definition given. Presumably it would be related to importune. DCDuring TALK 10:26, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Call me crazy, but you can't RFV a verb with no definition, so I removed it. Maybe add to WT:REE or mention on the talk page. Mglovesfun (talk) 10:30, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * OK. You're crazy. I'd like to know whether the word exists as a verb. From the cites we can always figure out the meaning. A contributor had put in the verb PoS section without a definition and out of order. It had an . DCDuring TALK 10:44, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I think my point was that's not an RFV issue, it's an RFC or Tea room issue. Anyway, that's splitting hairs, so I'll undo my edit. Mglovesfun (talk) 11:18, 7 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Looks real, perhaps dated - see, . Pingku 13:03, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Does it have both of the meanings we have for importune? DCDuring TALK 14:06, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I could only find variations of the "harass" / "plead" sense. The closest to any impropriety was something about a mythological character changing herself into a bird to escape being importunated by Zeus - and we all know what he was like! Pingku 15:41, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The latter might be enough to include the "other" sense. I wonder whether writers added the extra syllable to avoid the negative association of the second sense. I'd like to see what citations make it clear that "importune" has the "solicit for prostitution" or "make improper advances" senses. What exactly are we to make of the "importuning" suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey? Was it "harassment" or "improper advances"? Or is it left ambiguous so the children don't have to be sent away? DCDuring TALK 17:22, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * This is the downside of rfv'ing something before it actually exists. Mglovesfun (talk) 21:55, 8 May 2010 (UTC)
 * But both the word and the (incomplete) entry do exist. It is only the precise meaning relative to importune: that was and remains unclear. What it needs are citations to clarify not merely its existence, but its meaning.
 * What else should we have done? Deleted it? Some very imperfect entries point up gaps in our coverage. DCDuring TALK 23:47, 8 May 2010 (UTC)
 * No I'm being picky; personally I'd have used rfc-def, but that is picky. Mglovesfun (talk) 23:51, 8 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I've added three cites that more or less match the "harass with persistent requests" sense of . —Ruakh TALK 17:14, 26 November 2010 (UTC)


 * It seems to be cited. I have marked it rare. - -sche 01:19, 16 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Passed. - -sche (discuss) 04:41, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

2. urgent or pressing
2. Requiring immediate attention and action:  Importunate requests for medical aid followed the catastrophic air raid. JMGN (talk) 10:44, 15 July 2024 (UTC)