The Penguin Guide to Plain English

involve I involvement
The verb to involve is also being used to cover a variety o f rational
connections, causal and otherwise. Its connotation has developed
interestingly. The Latii^ root ( volvere) meant to roll something
about and is behind both our w ords revolve and involve. Involvere
came to mean to overwhelm or cover, used o f clouds sweeping over the
sky. So in English usage in the eighteenth century the poet William
Cowper began his powerful poem about a castaway at sea w ith the
lines:
Obscurest night involved the sky,
The Atlantic billows roared . . .
From meaning to roll things up, to enwrap, to envelop or entangle we
can see how it has become the useful w ord w e now know too well.
The retirement package involved continued rent-free residence.
Here the w ord involve is used to mean include.
The expedition would involve spending three weeks in an exposed position
on the mountain.
Here the w ord involve is used to mean necessitate.
Accepting the new post would have involved my whole family.
Here the w ord involve is used to mean affect.
We could not consider the boards proposal without involving the whole
work force.
Here the w ord involve means consult. This is a far cry from the notion
o f rolling up clouds in a stormy sky. It is a pity to weaken an already
weakened w ord further. That is w hat we should say to ourselves before
lightly using the word.
The popularity o f the verb to involve has now been matched by the
popularity o f the noun involvement*. If a project involves collecting
inform ation, then collecting inform ation is a necessary part o f the project.
People involved in a project are significantly concerned and associated
w ith it. W hen w e read o f the hope that a pretty but neglected waterway
will see an increased local involvement we recognize the same usage,
but w hat can we make o f the following?