"agist" is rare?

[drs]

I was surprised to find that "agist" was classified as rare; I expected it to be common. Of course in the last ten years of drought in Australia it was common for people on the land in less dry areas to agist stock for those in parched country, so we may have seen and heard it in the press more often than those from other climes. What do others think? Rare or common?

[pat]

It's not a word I know. In fact when I saw it in the thread title I thought you were going to ask for an alternative spelling of ageist!

[birdy]

I know the word but only because I read high-class British-based literature like Mills & Boon.  I don't ever remember seeing it used in this country.

[TRex]

I got ageist and then thought that because agism is an alternate spelling for ageism, to try agist. When it came up in italics, I clicked on it to see its meaning -- and was surprised to see it had to do with cattle.

[drs]

Thanks, all, for the comments. I guess on the basis of your diverse experience, it is rare after all. In my case, being a methodical animal and starting my puzzle-solving at A, it was the first word I entered and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be rare. Just goes to show that our subjective perception of the frequency of words is very much dependent on our life experience.

[TRex]

Thanks, all, for the comments. I guess on the basis of your diverse experience, it is rare after all. In my case, being a methodical animal and starting my puzzle-solving at A, it was the first word I entered and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be rare. Just goes to show that our subjective perception of the frequency of words is very much dependent on our life experience.

Yep, which is why it is so difficult for Alan to make everybody happy!

[ilandrah]

I absolutely agree with drs and Trex on the difficulty of catering to the various cultures, diverse age groups and educational levels persent amongst players on Chi, it must be extremely painful and frustrating for poor Alan.
I myself consider it to be quite fascinating.
Usually I am surprised by the words other members here raise, as most are unfamiliar to me. I think it is always great to explore new words - even if I can never actually remember them for the puzzles the very next day.
The pronunciation of words also often confounds me. Thank goodness there are some dictionaries that provide sound bites of words. On seconds thoughts perhaps not - I may have an American accent inject itself randomly into my conversations.  LOL
I am very familiar with agist, and although I am Australian, I was also raised on a farm. I wonder if Australians in metropolitan areas are also familiar with it?