Posts filed under 'perplexing pairs'
September 26th, 2008
If “habitable” means “fit to be lived in,” does “inhabitable” mean “unfit to be lived in”? No — both words mean “in livable condition.”
The verb “inhabit” means “to dwell or live in; occupy.” Use of “habit” as a verb as a synonym for “inhabit” is considered archaic. But the adjectives live on in harmony.
This recalls the classic doubling up of “flammable” and “inflammable,” both of which mean “easily set on fire; that will burn readily or quickly.”
Webster’s says that “flammable” is now preferred in commerce and industry, which is a good thing. This is a label that should not be open to misinterpretation.
In the same vein, “habitable” can be considered clearer than “inhabitable,” which could be confused with “inhospitable.”
September 24th, 2008
In what he called a move to help tame Illinois’ budget, the governor designated several state parks and historic sites for closure. Technically, the latter should be called “historical sites,” but just think what changing all those signs would cost.
“Historical” is a much broader term, basically meaning anything having to do with history. There are historical documents, historical novels, historical artifacts and so on.
“Historic” should be reserved for things “of lasting significance or importance.” Everything that has happened is history, but very few of those events are historic.
So what in the world could “prehistory” be? That’s stuff that happened before records of it were kept. Human prehistory is what archaeologists dig into. Trying to figure out what happened before human beings appeared is the task of geologists, cosmologists — and theologians.
September 23rd, 2008
In the dust-up over Sarah Palin’s dealings as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, with a local librarian, some confusion has arisen over whether Palin posed “rhetorical’ questions or “hypothetical” ones.
It’s more likely they were the latter, because the former would be basically just for intimidation. Hypothetical questions use “what-if” scenarios: Let’s assume these conditions, then what would you do?
A “rhetorical” question is just for effect or emphasis, and an answer isn’t expected. For example:Â ”Wasn’t that the worst movie you’ve ever seen?” The questioner is really saying, “That’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen, and I assume you feel the same.”
“Rhetoric” is a word with classical origins whose meaning has been altered down through the centuries. It comes from the Greek “rhetor,” who was an orator or “a master or teacher of rhetoric.” And in those days, “rhetoric” was “the art of using words effectively in speaking or writing.” So being proficient in rhetoric was a good thing.
Nowadays, we are likely to ask a speaker to cut through the rhetoric, because the prevailing idea is that it’s “artificial eloquence; language that is showy and elaborate but largely empty of clear ideas or sincere emotion.”
And “rhetorical question” is a specific term born of this revamped meaning.
That doesn’t seem fair, does it?
September 19th, 2008
Apparently there are many Americans who still haven’t decided how they will vote in November, and millions of dollars are being spent to help them make up their minds. So it seems like a good time to consider the difference between “convince” and “persuade.”
To “convince” is “to overcome the doubts of” or “make feel sure,” using argument or evidence. “Convince” is followed at some point by “that” or “of”:
“A prosecutor tries to convince a jury that the accused is guilty. A defense attorney tries to convince a jury of his client’s innocence.”
To “persuade” is “to cause to do something.” It is usually followed by “to”:
“He persuaded the jury to find his client not guilty.”
So “convince” produces a point of view, “persuade” produces an action.
In the presidential race, the goal of each campaign is to convince people that its candidate is the better one and then persuade them to vote for him.
It’s a fine point, but one considered worth preserving by most usage experts. Of course, not all of them are convinced.
September 17th, 2008
To continue is to go on and on and on. But don’t write “continue on.” Save that “on” for a place where it’s needed.
As part of this continuing education, let’s also review the difference between “continual” and “continuous.”
The former is about repetition, “happening over and over again.” Legislatures are places of continual argument, but they do take breaks from it.
“Continuous” is “going on or extending without interruption or break; unbroken; connected.” When you’re at sea, the ocean appears to be continuous.
“Continuity” is the noun for “the state or quality of being continuous; connectedness; coherence.” It’s also a word used in the arts for a script for a film, radio or TV show, comic strip, etc. In movies, it also refers to matching how things appear from one shot to the next.
This family of words also contains “continuum,” a rare example of two “u’s” together. “Vacuum” is another.
Space is essentially a vacuum, but space-time is a continuum.
September 10th, 2008
Recently, I’ve seen a couple of references to something or someone being “on the ballet.” I’ve been reading about elections for a long time, and I don’t think that one has ever come up before.
Yes, “ballet” IS a word, but it’s pronounced “ba-LAY” and it’s a form of dance. You know, “Swan Lake,” ballerinas on tiptoe and one of my favorite words, tutus.
The word that belongs in election coverage is “ballot,” rhymes with “mallet.” “Ballot” traces back to the Italian “palla” for “ball” — also the source for “balloon.”
If it helps, balloons are often full of hot air and so are many people on ballots.
August 12th, 2008
Two words that are easy to mix up, probably because we don’t get much practice with them, are “demur” and “demure.” They aren’t quite homonyms, but close enough to add to the confusion.
The former, “demur,” is most often used as a verb to mean “to hesitate because of one’s doubts or objections; have scruples; object.” It comes from the Latin “demorari” for “to delay.”
The preferred pronunciation is a “long e” sound on the first syllable. The stress is on the second, which is said the same as the “mur-” in “murder.”
The other word, “demure,” is an adjective meaning “decorous; modest; reserved” or “”affectedly modest or shy; coy.” It traces back to the Latin “maturus” for “mature.”
Its first syllable has a “short i” sound, as in “did,” and the stressed second syllable is pronounced like the “mur-” in “mural.”
It’s understandable that a demure person might demur on using either one.
July 25th, 2008
Early in Mel Brooks’ first movie, “The Producers,” the down-on-his-luck character played by Zero Mostel looks out a window to see a white Rolls-Royce and shouts, “That’s it, baby, when you got it, flaunt it!”
The verbs “flaunt” and “flout” have been known to cause confusion. “Flaunt,” used correctly in the film, is “to make a gaudy, ostentatious, conspicuous, impudent or defiant display.”
It’s the defiant aspect that also appears in “flout”: “to mock or scoff at; show scorn or contempt for” or “to openly disregard, as by rejecting, defying or ignoring.”
Adding to the potential for crossover, it’s often people who are flaunting their own perceived authority who flout that of others –Â the leader of a nation who openly disregards its laws, for instance.
I prefer emphasizing how the two words are different: To “flaunt” is to show off, and to “flout” is to show contempt.
July 9th, 2008
Is there a difference in meaning between “I understand how you feel” and “I know how you feel”? I look at it as the difference between “sympathy” and “empathy.”
The first one, sympathy, is more intellectual: I can imagine what you must be going through, and I share your grief. It works on many levels. That’s why we have sympathy cards instead of empathy cards.
The second, empathy, means I’ve been there, so I know what it’s like. From this perspective, I don’t think males can be empathetic when it comes to childbirth. We should be overflowing with sympathy, though.Â
These are not necessarily accepted distinctions. It’s just the way I look at it. Here are some other takes on the two:
From “Garner’s Modern American Usage” by Bryan A. Garner: ” ‘Empathy’ is the ability to imagine oneself in another person’s position and to experience all the sensations connected with it. ‘Sympathy’ is compassion for or commiseration with another.”
From “Words on Words” by John B. Bremner: ” ‘Empathy’ is stronger and more personal than ’sympathy.’ ‘Empathy’ involves vicarious identification and extends beyond feelings of pity or commiseration to an understanding of the very soul of another.”
From “Right, Wrong, and Risky” by Mark Davidson: “Use ‘empathy’ for the ability to identify with the feelings or thoughts of someone else. Use ’sympathy’ for the spontaneous reaction of pity.”
The dictionary says “empathy” is “the projection of one’s own personality into the personality of another in order to understand the person better” or “ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings.” For “sympathy” it has several definitions, one of them sounding a lot like “empathy”: “an entering into, or the ability to enter into, another person’s mental state, feelings, emotions, etc.”
Still trying to sort them out? I sympathize. Or maybe I empathize. Anyway, I feel your pain.
June 2nd, 2008
Yes, we make mistakes here at the Register Star, and we try to own up to the ones involving factual errors in our reporting by running corrections. Others are catch as catch can.
I’m mentioning this one because it can be instructional, and the lesson, often repeated, is “Watch out for homonyms.”
The correct term for an “abundant or rich source” is “mother lode,” NOT “mother load.” “Lode” is a mining term for a vein or deposit of a valuable substance. A “mother lode” is an especially rich concentration, the mother of all lodes.
This is not to say that mothers are not load-bearing, because they are — and usually to a greater extent than they ever get credit for.
Two other valuable “lode” terms: “lodestone” is specifically a strongly magnetized rock and generally anything that “attracts as with magnetic force”; and “lodestar” is a star used in navigation, especially the North Star, and generally “a guiding principle or ideal.”
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