retrieve from

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Hi,I have a question about the verb "retrieve.""I went to retrieve groceries from the Wal-Mart."I've always thought this "retrieve" means "buy" or "get," but I'm not sure why they use "retrieve." It sounds like they'd lost groceries at the Wal-Mart. Is there any good reason/explanation to use "retrieve" here?Thanks in advance.Rino

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

I agree with you. It is an odd choice of word in this context.
Buy, get, purchase or obtain would be more appropriate.

Clive · Answer

In broad terms, 'retrieve' means 'recover and bring back'.
eg I took my wallet to the store, and accidentally left it there. I had to go back to the store to retrieve it.

Here is the etymology of the word.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=retrieve&allowed_in_frame=0
It is based on the French
trouver = find.
retrouver = find again.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Blue Jay and Clive.

CliveIn broad terms, 'retrieve' means 'recover and bring back'.

Cliveretrouver = find again.

So, it is nothing wrong to use "retrieve" in this context though the places are different as well as the items? (I mean, they consumed some groceries at home and went to recover the loss at the Wal-Mart; the eggs they ate can't be found again.)

If so, can I use the verb as in "I gambled away my wages last week, so I need to retrieve it this week by working overtime"?

Rino

Anonymous · Answer

The sentence, "I went to retrieve groceries at the Wal-Mart.", is not right. First, the verb "retrieve" is not used like this. It is a word that is infrequently used, and when it is used, it is in certain very specific contexts where something is "re-obtained," for example:

"I retrieved my car keys from pond I dropped them in last night."
"My dog will retrieve anything that is thrown into water."

Second, "the Wal-Mart" is incorrect. It should be "Wal-Mart." You'd only used the definite article in a sentence such as: "I went to buy groceries at the Wal-Mart down the street."

If you want to convey the sense of replacing or re-stocking up on food, then you'd say something like:

"We ate all the eggs we had at home, and so we had to go to Wal-Mart to get some more." You would not use verbs like "retrieve" or "recover (the loss)" in this sense.

"I gambled away my wages last week, so I need to retrieve it this week by working overtime." is not right. Again, the verb "retrieve" is not used like this. You'd say something like: "I gambled away my whole paycheck last week as soon as I got it, so I'll have to work overtime this week just to make ends meet."

If you want to use the verb "retrieve" in a gambling context, it would be in a sentence like: "I threw the dice wildly and one of them fell into a crack in the floor. We spent an hour prying out the floor boards to retrieve it."

Khoff · Answer

RinoSo, it is nothing wrong to use "retrieve" in this context though the places are different as well as the items? (I mean, they consumed some groceries at home and went to recover the loss at the Wal-Mart; the eggs they ate can't be found again.)If so, can I use the verb as in "I gambled away my wages last week, so I need to retrieve it this week by working overtime"?

No -- what you are describing is "replace," not "retrieve."

When you throw a stick or a ball and your dog runs and gets it and gives it back to you, the dog is retrieving the ball. (In fact, dogs that are bred and trained to bring back birds shot by a hunter are caller "retrievers.")

Clive · Answer

No, no, you have the wrong idea.

If you retrieve something from Walmart, it sounds like you took it from your home to Walmart , left it at Walmart, came home, and then had to go back to Walmart and get it. And bring it back home.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your replies, Anonymous, khoff and Clive.
They're all really useful.
I thought Clive disagreed with enoon, then I was confused.

"I retrieved some water from a spring behind the shelter before moving on up the trail."
"http://www.grahamhancock.com/news/index.php?node=33559"
"http://www.newsradiowebo.com/?p=19333"
"Natalie and I decided to embark upon a quest to retrieve groceries from our local Wal-Mart."

These are some of the examples I found on the Internet, and all "retrieve"s sound odd, right?
(Maybe the third one can have some different, hidden context, though.)
I wanted to know if this odd feeling was correct or there was any reason to use the verb in this way.

Regards,
Rino

Enoon · Answer

How did I get into this? But now you've done it. The word "retrieve" is sometimes used as a synonym for "fetch" (AHD, verb, tr., 6), with no overtones of regaining possession. English has many pairs of synonyms, one Latin and one Anglo-Saxon, to suit the tastes of the two kinds of people in the English-speaking world, the ones who want to sound intelligent and the ones who are and want to sound no particular way.

The examples you give are illuminating.

"I retrieved some water from a spring behind the shelter before moving on up the trail." This is simply "fetch" in a toga.

"[A] U.S. research team retrieved water from Lake Whillans, which sits 800 meters below the ice surface." The guy wanted to sound more scientificalated (I just made that word up. I'm allowed.)

"8-year old Matthew Stahl was checking on the family’s calves near their home on Gibson Road while his father retrieved groceries from a neighbor." This guy couldn't bring himself to write "got", probably because he didn't realize it was plain English and thought it was part of his rube dialect.

"Natalie and I decided to embark upon a quest to retrieve groceries from our local Wal-Mart." This is tongue-in-cheek, jokingly making their trek seem like a grand expedition.

Anonymous · Answer

I'm so sorry, enoon. It was Blue Jay.

I'll be more careful in the future.
Your comment is very helpful, and now I understand the background of word choice.
Thank you very much.

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