I always say that S3 is my favorite season, but damn if S2 didn't kick so much ass. One day the DVDs will be mine.

If I were more Cindy-an or Plei-an I could work up this eloquent treatise on how the shift from "hunting" to "patrolling" mirrored Buffy's growing discomfort/disaffection with her role as the Slayer and the darkness that it entailed.

You could be on to something there. I'd say offhand that at that stage, the terminology wouldn't have registered because Buffy hadn't really started trying to examine who and what she was.

I just thought it was interesting that even Giles with all his Watcher training used hunting instead of patrolling (again no sites. Bad Buffista!) and he should definitely know the correct terminology for what it is that a Slayer does. I'd have to devote more time to it than I have right now, though in order to flesh out my thoughts properly.

It may also reflect a shift on the show's part from portraying vampires/demons as animals to be hunted to more humanlike criminals who would be the subject of warding patrols.

The definitely used the word "hunt" less and less as the seasons progressed:

"Inca Mummy Girl": Giles: I was gonna suggest hunting.

"Reptile Boy": Giles: When you live on top of a... a mystical convergence it's only a matter of time before a fresh hell breaks loose. Now is the time that you should train more strictly, you should hunt and patrol more keenly, you should hone your skills day and night.

"Lie To Me": Giles: Hello. Um, did we hunt last night?

"Bad Eggs": Xander: Oh, right. I see a lotta hunting getting done in *that* scenario.
...
Buffy: You know, this isn't hunting in the classical sense. We should...

"Go Fish": Willow: Does that mean we're gonna have to hunt them again?

"Revelations": Gwendolyn: I suggest two Slayers at full strength for a coordinated hunt.

"The Prom": Giles: Buffy, I know it's horrible, but if you're going to hunt this creature, you should study it.

"The Freshman": Buffy: How am I supposed to hunt in this mob? Don't you people have homes?

"Living Conditions": Willow: Happy hunting.

"A New Man": Buffy: Hmm. I'll tell Giles about it. Or maybe I'll tell Maggie. She seemed kind of interested in learning the mystical side of the whole demon hunting biz.

"Buffy Vs. Dracula": Buffy: And then this whole thing with Dracula ... it made me face up to some stuff. Ever since we did that spell where we called on the first slayer ... I've been going out a lot. Every night.
Giles: Patrolling?
Buffy: Hunting. That's ... what Dracula called it. And he was right. He understood my power better than I do. He saw darkness in it. I need to know more. About where I come from, about the other slayers. I mean, maybe... maybe if I could learn to control this thing, I could be stronger, I could be better. But ... I'm scared. I know it's gonna be hard. And I can't do it ... without you. I need your help. I need you to be my Watcher again.

Amazon will now let you pre-order Season 6, which is due out July 6, 2004.

"hunting">"patrolling" shift has intrigued me too.

In the early days it's the vampire term for what they do to humans, the vampire teom for what the Slayer does to them, and the Watcher and Slayer term for what she does to vampyrs.

Interestingly. Giles is the first and only one to use the term "patrol". In Reptile Boy. First as "hunt and patrol", and three times later as "patrol" alone.
True Willow also uses it "And you never let her do anything except work and patrol! And I know she's the Chosen One, but you're killing her with the pressure!"
But in context hunting would be less appropriate there: patrol=boring / hunting=fun

Giles later uses "patrol" in What's my Line?, Ted, BBB,

Buffy doesn't switch to the term even at the obvious points WLM: suggested career as Law Enforcement Officer instead of Predator, Phases: still "hunting werewolves" even though it's a capture not a kill, Innocence: Angel whom she isn't ready to kill.
Until Killed by death, after she's declared she's ready to kill Angel.

So when did Giles get these fluffy bunny feelings for vampyrs?

His Wuv for Spike?

True wuv arising from the glimpse across a crowded church in what's my line?
doesn't seem likely

True wuv arising from the glimpse across a crowded church in what's my line? doesn't seem likely

That's why it's Romantic, silly!

The linguistic shift on the word "hunting" doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's not the word, but the intonation of the word, that's significant, which denotes more of a shift in Buffy's self-perception than it does on the action itself.

If you had asked Season 1 Buffy the difference between "patrolling for vampires" and "hunting vampires," she'd have dismissed you out of hand with a quip. Season 4 Buffy, on the other hand, had learned that there was indeed a difference, and it was a difference that even Giles had not really considered until that moment she pronounced the word.