Words On Words

09/20/2022

The linguistic difference between elegy and eulogy:
Many people mistakenly use these two words interchangeably.
Elegy (from Greek elegos, “song of mourning”. is a poem or a song that is melancholic or sorrowful.
A Eulogy (from the Greek, eulogia, “praise” is a formal statement of oration that praises the life, character and accomplishments of someone who has died.

01/06/2019

مراسلة البي بي سي تتحدث عن الدورة المائة والستين للكونغرس الأمريكي وتقول عن دخول الكثير من النساء ومسلمتين واثنتان من أصول الهنود الحمر وتصفها بأنها "الأشَدُّ تنوعاً"من المؤسف و المقلق أن ننسى الكلمات الأفضل لوصف الحال. ونأتي بأي كلمة تظهر على شاشة راداراتنا المفرداتي دون أن نُعمل العقل قليلاً للإتيان بالكلمة المناسِبة التي تستدعيها المناسَبة.
في صلاة الجمعة قبل أسبوعين وصف الخطيب شروطاً فقهية بأنها شروطاً شديدة، قاسية، و مهمة.. برأيي أن كل هذه الأوصاف غير مناسبة لوصف الشروط... الشدة تعني الصلابة والقوة والجلادة.. والشديد هو الرجل القوي.. الكونغرس الحالي هو ببساطة الأكثر تنوُّعاً
أمّا الشروط فالأصح أو توصف بأنها صارمة أو صعبة إذا كانت كذلك او بسيطة، سهلة ويسيرة إذا كانت على النقيض منه.

10/17/2017

Decrease, Reduce and their synonyms

Every time I hear one of the pundits addressing the state of America and the Trump presidency I invariably hear someone making a reference to the state of the state or economy or the president’s popularity. The pundits and—alas, sometimes news anchors—use reduce, decrease and other words that describe something becoming less or smaller as if they mean the same thing.

Here’s the proper usage of these correlatives:

Decrease: Refers to something that is in gradual decline or becoming steadily smaller;
1-The number of people visiting Paris in the wake of the terrorist attack has decreased significantly
2- The president has managed to decrease the trade deficit by one-third since taking office

Reduce: Places an emphasis on the cutting down in size, time, cost, rank or importance;
1- Steve Jobs had a habit of verbally assaulting those who were working with him on the Lisa project and reducing men and women alike to tears.
2- IBM was prepared to lay off 112,000 employees, a reduction of 26% of its 430,000 workforces worldwide.
3- To lose weight, you must reduce the amount of fat in your diet.

Lessen: usually refers to decrease in number, sometimes a decrease in emotions, sentiment or sensation;
1- Traffic congestion in Dubai had lessened since the opening of the Metro.
2- The new medical treatment for dialysis will lessen the pain during and after treatment.

Dwindle: refers to something becoming gradually and over a period of time to a vanishing point;
1- Carly Fiorina’s campaign was limping and her support dwindled to 2 percent in the Iowa caucuses.
2- Basic supplies in Puerto Rico dwindled to a very low level, they can be described as scarce.

Abate: Stresses something that gradually becomes less serious or extreme, to become less in amount, degree or intensity;
1- Even after the U.N forces entered the city, the factional fighting showed no sign of abating.

Diminish: Implies taking away from something or making it perceptibly smaller sometimes by a deliberate intention;
1- Investors’ enthusiasm for the dot-com stock quickly diminished at the first sign of a downturn.
2- Donald Trump has managed to diminish the standing of the United States in the world with his flagrant conduct.

Shrink: Applies specifically to reduction in original physical size, to move away from something like responsibility primarily because of fear, anxiety or cowardice;
1- President Trump had developed the habit of shrinking from his role in creating a division across racial lines in the U.S.

Subside: implies decreasing to a more normal condition, something that becomes weaker, less violent or less severe;
1- The hurricane force subsided as it made its landfall.
2- The water level subsided to normal in the Seine River two days after the rainfall stopped.

09/06/2017

06/22/2017

05/12/2017

Collision and Collusion
One word that has seen a spike in its usage recently--primarily due to what's going on with the Trump administration and the Russian meddling in the U.S election last year--is Collusion. This word maybe confused with another that for none native speakers may sound the same. That words in Collision.

Collusion is derived from the verb Collude: To act together secretly to achieve a deceitful of fraudulent purpose; connive. This comes from Latin: colludere; com-, together + ludere, to play

Collision is derived from the verb collide: 1- To come together with violent, direct impact. 2- To meet in opposition; clash; conflict. It also comes from Latin: Collidere; com-, together +laedere, to strike

03/29/2017

Alternative and Other: Just heard CNN's Arwa Damon reporting on the US air strike in Mosul.

Here is part what she effectively said: "There are other alternatives [to airstrikes] being explored"

The usage panel of The American Heritage Dictionary prefers that "other is not used in conjunction with Alternative"

Here is the definition of alternative as a noun:

1- a choice limited to one of two or more possibilities, as of things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility:
You have the alternative of using roll-film photography or digital photography
2- one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen: The alternative to roll-film photography is digital photography
3- a possible or remaining course or choice: There was no alternative but to use digital photography.

The root of the word alternative is alter which has a Latin origin meaning other.

It becomes--therefore--redundant to put these two words together.

Other choices for the word alternative: choice, option, selection, preference, pick, substitute.

02/14/2017

With the death of North Korean president's estranged half brother Kim Jong Nam. It is likely that he was killed by a North Korean operatives. The killing of something, someone or one's own is preceded by the prefix "cide"

Cide is a word borrowed from Latin meaning "killer" It is used in the formation of compound words; Insecticide - the killing of insects, Pesticide - a chemical preparation for the killing of pests like insects and rodents, Homicide - the killing of one human being by another.
Here is a longer list of compound words using “cide”:

01/28/2017

Cause and Reason: I Just heard a CNN anchor; Cyril Vanier ushering the news of the passing of the British actor John Hurt.

At the end of the news piece he said: "No specific reason was given for his death". The word "cause" would be more appropriate here.

Here are the definitions of both words:

Reason: 1- The basis or motive for an action, decision or conviction. 2- a declaration made to justify an action, decision or conviction.

Cause: 1- a. Something that produces an effect, result or consequences. b. The person, event, or condition responsible for an action or result.

A cause must exist for an effect logically to occur.

A reason refers to what explains the occurrence or nature of an effect and suggests an effort of human thought.

01/25/2017

English has the largest vocabulary and most synonyms of any language in the world. The richness of English is due to the fact that English has borrowed more words from other languages than most.

The Norman conquest of England brought many new French words into English. The English vocabulary--after the conquest--virtually doubled by the addition of French words.

Many of the new French words were incorporated to reflect the higher standard of living and more complex social life: for example, words connected with food(sugar, vinegar, boil, fry, roast), clothing (garment, robe, mantle, gown), law (plaintiff, perjury, legacy), religion (convent, hermitage, chaplain, cardinal), and social rank (prince, duke, count, vassal, mayor and constable)

01/22/2017

01/22/2017

Lens and Lentil: The word lens has its roots in Latin. Lentil in Latin is the leguminous plant; like peas beans, clover and alfalfa. Lens borrowed the word from Old French lentille in a clear reference to its double convex shape. In Arabic the two words Lens and lentil have a corresponding parallel to the plant which is called "Adas" عدس and to the double convex surface glass which is called "Adasah" عدسة