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tenet te·net Pronunciation: 'te-n&t also 'tE-n&t Function: noun Etymology: Latin, he holds, from tenEre to hold : a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially : one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession
tenement ten·e·ment Pronunciation: 'te-n&-m&nt Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenEre to hold -- more at THIN 1 : any of various forms of corporeal property (as land) or incorporeal property that is held by one person from another 2 : DWELLING 3 a : a house used as a dwelling : RESIDENCE b : APARTMENT, FLAT c : TENEMENT HOUSE
tenent tenent \Ten"ent\, n. [L. tenent they hold, 3d pers. pl. pres. of tenere.] A tenet. [Obs.] --Bp. Sanderson.
tenant ten·ant Pronunciation: 'te-n&nt Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from present participle of tenir to hold 1 a : one who holds or possesses real estate or sometimes personal property (as an annuity) by any kind of right b : one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements of another; specifically : one who rents or leases (as a house) from a landlord 2 : OCCUPANT, DWELLER - ten·ant·less /-l&s/ adjective
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Corollary #1 (if okay with rivka, of course):
populous Pronunciation: 'pä-py&-l&s Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin populosus, from populus people 1 a : densely populated b : having a large population 2 a : NUMEROUS b : filled to capacity - pop·u·lous·ly adverb - pop·u·lous·ness noun
populace Pronunciation: 'pä-py&-l&s Function: noun Etymology: Middle French, from Italian popolaccio rabble, augmentative of popolo the people, from Latin populus 1 : the common people : MASSES 2 : POPULATION
If it is a noun, use populace. e.g.: "His decree was difficult for the populace to accept." "The populace was in agreement to stone her." "A gift of a wooden horse was sent to the populace."
Only use populous if you are using it to modify a noun -- "populous" itself is not a noun. e.g., "What a populous kingdom you have!" "If the countryside weren't so populous, I wouldn't have expected so many lemonade stands." "Once we become a more populous town, we should have many more witches."
[Shout-out to Icarus for using "populace" correctly in an ongoing thread!]
[ September 20, 2004, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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lose ... 3 : to suffer deprivation of : part with especially in an unforeseen or accidental manner 4 a : to suffer loss through the death or removal of or final separation from (a person) b : to fail to keep control of or allegiance of <lose votes> <lost his temper> ...
loose 1 a : to let loose : RELEASE b : to free from restraint 2 : to make loose : UNTIE <loose a knot> 3 : to cast loose : DETACH 4 : to let fly : DISCHARGE 5 : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : RELAX
"We must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures." "Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. "
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I won't use the format, because I won't take the time, but the past-tense of lead is led, not lead pronounced like metal. And I won't get into petal/peddle/pedal, or the proper use of cannot, or any of the other things that don't bug me enough to say anything about them in the thread where they occur but which fester in my mind.
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One of the legacies of being raised by an English major is that you take correction of your grammar as a sign of tenderest love and caring. Also I noticed that when I'm feeling particularly maternal I will have strong grammar-correction urges myself. So I want to thank rivka and Sara and Katie and all the rest of the grammar-moms and give them big hugs. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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My pet peeve is the pronunciation of perilous in the national anthem. If you don't know how to pronounce the word, you best not sing it at the superbowl.
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Rivka, I was one of the offenders. I thank you for setting me straight. I've been fighting that word for awhile now. Posts: 2022 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Mike, what bugs me is when people fail to use "cannot," and instead use "can not." "Cannot" implies inability, where "can not" implies having the option to refrain. At least that's how I read it. And Dr. Seuss uses "can not" all the time.
Now some obnoxious grammar ________ (insert title of choice) will probably say that "can not" can mean either one. Whatever. I don't think it should (or does, actually). That's part of why you usually won't hear me complain about the use of "can not," but you might see me laud the use of "cannot."
For me, part of refraining from complaint regarding speech goes back to my ex-fiancée, who got extremely irritated when I would correct her (usually swapping I for me). I always thought such correction was cute, but she got ticked. Ever since then, my tendency has been to err on the side of getting along rather than being right (or at least pointing out that someone else is wrong). I also have this habit of occasionally being wrong myself, and have no real problem with others letting that slide.
And as I said in Space Opera's poetry thread -- part of the issue is learning all the rules, then deciding which ones to break. But breaking them because one never learned them I have difficulty viewing as something other than laziness. My tendency to begin sentences with conjunctions, for example, is a choice -- an affect, to some degree, expressing my train of thought speeding up so much as to jump the tracks on occasion, and thus I preemptively buy myself forgiveness, at least in my own mind.
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I remember when I was about ten and a teacher wrote "loosing" on the board, instead of "losing". I think I lost (loost?) a bit of my innocence that day. My world shook. I didn't quite like the way it settled back down. Posts: 2762 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Split infinitives are O.K. Same goes for the singular they, and for ending sentences with prepositions. I'm anti-prescriptivist.
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Pity you didn't start this a few days earlier. I would have dumped Jive and Jibe in here as well.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I just noticed "affected" vs. "effected" in another thread, too. And "dane" vs. "deign" in that same post.
Though I admit messing up "rein" vs. "reign" - even as far as getting a piece published wherein someone "reigned" something in. Noticing it when reading it in print, I slapped myself in the forehead soundly. Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Site: 1. The place where a structure or group of structures was, is, or is to be located: a good site for the school. 2. The place or setting of something: a historic site; a job site. 3. A website.
Sight: 1. The ability to see. 2. The act or fact of seeing: hoping for a sight of land; caught sight of a rare bird. 3. Field of vision. 4. The foreseeable future; prospect: no solution in sight. 5. Mental perception or consideration: We lost sight of the purpose of our visit. 6. Something seen; a view. 7. Something worth seeing; a spectacle: the sights of London.
I always have to sing the Strong Bad song to figure out its and it's: Oh if you want it to be posessive then it's just i-t-s but if it's supposed to be a contraction then it's i-t-apostrophe-s scalawag.
quote:Originally posted by starLisa: Pity you didn't start this a few days earlier. I would have dumped Jive and Jibe in here as well.
Awww, Lisa. I was just gonna say that all these rules really don't jive with my tenants. Hmmm. I guess I just did anyway!
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Dictionaries, and dictionary threads, are the last recourse for people without the imagination to spell words in a variety of strange and interesting ways.
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quote:Dictionaries, and dictionary threads, are the last recourse for people without the imagination to spell words in a variety of strange and interesting ways.
Says the man who spelled every word the boring dictionary way. Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I'm bumping this up to ask the grammar gurus:
What is the difference between "i.e." and "e.g."? (Since someone made a big deal about the difference the other day!!)
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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i.e. = "id est," or "that is" e.g. = "exemplia gratia," or "for example"
(i.e., one is used to restate a point, while the other is used to list various examples (e.g., this example, other examples, and other itemized sets)).
i.e. is frequently misused in cases where e.g. is the more appropriate choice (e.g., "I need to get some stuff done in town, i.e. shopping, laundry, and some other errands.")
It can be used correctly to enumerate examples in one specific instance (i.e., when its enumeration is exhaustive rather than an incomplete list and is thus actually a clarification or elaboration on the original.)
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I didn't intend to lay down a rule, but that does make sense.
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Good thread. ![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
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