Recurrent thinking

October 6th, 2009 at 07:00am Barry Wood

I’m a big fan of simplicity, but sometimes we try to make English too simple.

Case in point: Here’s an entry in The Associated Press Stylebook — recur, recurred, recurring. Not “reoccur.”

The problem is, there’s a subtle difference between “reoccur” and “recur.”

I concur with trying to avoid “reoccur.” It simply means “to happen again.” So why not just say “happen again” instead of “reoccur,” which seems inelegant.

However, “recur” is perfect for “to appear at intervals.” In other words, for when something occurs again and again.

That’s how we get the adjective “recurrent” for “intermittent.”

All of them can be traced to the Latin verb “currere,” for “to run,” which is also where “current” comes from.

And you thought it came from electrical devices.

Entry Filed under: strict usage, word origins