The Curious Incident of the Falling Leaf

It was over three years ago that a certain respectable magazine, commenting on a serious ankle injury sustained by a professional footballer in training, quoted someone as saying "it was the kind of collision that takes place hundreds of times in football without incident."

At first reading, this seems rather a strange comment.  The word 'incident' (derived from Latin elements signifying 'happening') used to be very neutral.  Basically*, Latin incidere means to 'happen' or 'befall'. Latin cadere means to fall,; and in- suggests 'onto'. I suppose even a leaf falling from a tree is strictly speaking an 'incident'.

A football collision certainly is an incident.  Today the term 'incident' is often used to imply a happening with serious implications, perhaps the result of provocation, leading to confrontation, or inviting retaliation. But not all incidents are bad: some, like unexpectedly meeting an old friend, or seeing a rainbow, are very pleasant.

* The adverb 'basically' is odd.  We might expect 'basicly',  for there is no term 'basical'.  Comically is derived from comical;  musically from musical;  pontifically from pontifical.  But then, there are no English words 'terrifical' or 'frantical', and yet we use the adverbs 'terrifically' and 'frantically'.  But even when we speak an adverb ending in '-ally', we don't pronounce the syllable 'al' at all, do we** ?  So why write it ?

** Or not usually, anyway.

The Curious Incident of the Falling Leaf