This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
On September 27, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a condolence message to the family of the Nation's board chairman, Mr. Wilfred Kiboro, after he lost a relative.
However, the Nation's headline claimed that President Kenyatta 'condoled NMG boss,' which is a misuse of the word 'condole.' To condole literally means 'to be sad with' or 'to join another or others in their sorrow at a misfortune.'
As Gerard Manley Hopkins once wrote, 'What would the world be once bereft of wildness and wet?' He was mourning the loss of nature and begging the powers-that-be to preserve the wilderness.
Similarly, when we send a condolence message to someone who has lost a loved one, we are expressing our own sadness and joining them in their sorrow.
Unfortunately, the word 'condole' is often misused, and people say 'I condole with you' when they mean 'I'm sorry for your loss.' However, the correct phrase is 'I condole with you,' which means 'I'm sad with you.'
So, the next time you want to express your condolences, remember that to condole is to join others in their sorrow, and use the word correctly.
