Have you ever wondered about the phrase “left for dead” and why it is not “left to die”? The expression “leave for dead” has been in use since Anglo-Saxon times, meaning to abandon someone or something who is almost dead or certain to die.
The earliest example of this phrase can be found in a passage about St. Paul in The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, written around 990 by Abbot Ælfric of Eynsham. The text describes how St. Paul was stoned unto death and left for dead by his persecutors, only to rise again the next day.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of “for” with an adjective as a complement in phrases like “leave for dead” is common in set expressions. This usage of “for” has been present in English since early Old English.
Both “left to die” and “left for dead” have been commonly used for centuries. However, “left to die” appears to be slightly more popular based on Google’s Ngram viewer, which tracks word and phrase usage in digitized books.
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