Vetting the Candidates

“Has she been thoroughly vetted?” they ask. It’s an apt question. But do they know what the word actually means?

According to Evan Morris, The Word Detective: “It’s just a shortening of veterinarian, a doctor who cares for animals (from the Latin veterinae, cattle, which constituted the bulk of early veterinarians’ patients). The original meaning of vet used as a verb was ‘to examine an animal (e.g., a racehorse before a race) thoroughly.’ The check out the candidate’s past sense first appeared in print in 1904.”

Donkeys. Elephants. Politicians. Such sweet irony…