Andro- derives from the Greek andros (man) and denotes anything that’s male or masculine (and you thought that was testosterone ) It’s given us several words, many of them scientific or biological:
andranatomy - the dissection or structure of the male body
androcentric - regarding men as being primary or central
androcephalic - having a man’s head upon an animal’s body
androcracy - political rule by men
androcyte - a male sex cell
androgen - a steroid/hormone that promotes the development male sexual organs and characteristics
androgynous - having both male and female characteristics; also applies in botany. Don’t confuse this with androgenous, a biological term which means producing male offspring only
android - a robot that looks like a human
andrology - the study of diseases that affect men (sometimes called andriatry or andriatics)
andromorphous - having a man’s shape
androsterone - a steroid hormone produced by men
Find many more examples here.
Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 4, 2008
Chủ Nhật, 20 tháng 4, 2008
Among vs. Amongst
One of our readers, Tania Botha asked:
“When (if ever) must one use “amongst” - I systematically use “among” in my own writing and change it when editing other people’s texts, because “amongst” seems so old-fashioned. Is there a rule?”
You can use among and amongst interchangeably, but as Tania pointed out, among is more common in modern writing.
From Dr Grammar’s FAQs “Both are correct and mean the same, but among is more common.”
Some people try to distinguish between the two, but this really is a case when either word is valid. I’d recommend choosing whichever fits your piece of writing best: if you’re writing a fantasy story, or a piece of historical fiction, you might want:
“As Tarquin stood amongst the great trees of the dark forest…”
But if you’re writing a news or feature article, you’ll probably go for:
“If you’re among one of the biggest groups in society…”
“Living among the Bush people taught me a lot…”
So yes, amongst does seem old-fashioned – but it’s still grammatically correct as an alternative to among. It’s up to you to select which you prefer!
Editor’s note: We had already touched on this issue in the past with the article Among/Amongst: Is there a Difference?.
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Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Euphemism and Euphuism
Political correctness is nothing new. People have desired to avoid calling a spade a spade since ancient times.
People don’t die, they “pass away.”
Politicians don’t commit crimes, they “make mistakes.”
Married men don’t commit adultery, they “cheat.”
People don’t fart, they “pass wind.”
The word for this substitution of a less offensive word or phrase for a more specific or unpleasant one is euphemism (uyển ngữ). The word is from Greek euphemizein “speak with fair words.”
The concept stemmed from the belief that the gods listened to human conversations and could be easily offended. People were careful not to boast of their wealth or accomplishments, so as not to prompt some god to reverse their fortunes as punishment.
The maiden Arachne, for example, learned to her cost what came of boasting. For claiming that she was a more skillful weaver than the goddess Athena, Arachne was transformed into a spider. (To this day spiders bear her name.)
The more horrific the deity, the more necessary it was for mortals to speak nicely about them.
The Erinyes, female personifications of vengeance, were really gruesome. Like the Gorgon, they had snakes on their heads. Drops of blood oozed from their eyes. They flew after oath-breakers on the wings of bats. Watch the film Jason and the Argonauts to see the Furies in action. In order to stroke their egos, ancient Greeks referred to them as the Eumenides, “the Kindly Ones.”
Modern mortals use euphemisms to avoid offending (or frightening, or informing) other people.
The opposite of euphemism is dysphemism (kiểu nói sốc), an intentionally harsh word intended to shock or offend. The Coen brothers go a little overboard with the F word in The Big Lebowski.
Euphuism (lối viết kiểu cách) is a term that describes a flowery, affected type of writing.
Euphues is Greek for “graceful, witty.” Sixteenth century English author John Lyly wrote a book called Euphues: The Anatomy of Wyt (1578). The main character is a fashionable young man named Euphues. The style in which the book is written is full of convoluted sentences, euphemisms, rhetorical questions, alliteration, and references to classical literature. (In the 16th century educated people were assumed to be familiar with Greek and Latin literature.)
Here’s an example of Lyly’s euphuistic style. For the fun of seeing how English has changed since the 16th century, I’ll give you both the original and a modernization.
It happened thys young Impe to ariue at Naples (a place of more pleasure then profite, and yet of more profite then pietie) the very walles and windowes whereof shewed it rather to bée the Tabernacle of Venus, then the Temple of Vesta.
There was all things necessary and in redinesse that myght eyther allure the minde to luste, or entice the hearte to follye, a courte more méete for an Atheyst, then for one of Athens, for Ouid then for Aristotle, for a gracelesse louer then for a godly lyuer: more fitter for Paris then Hector, and méeter for Flora then Diana.
Modernization:
It happened that this young playboy arrived at Naples (a place of more pleasure then educational value, and yet of more value then piety) the very walls and windows of the place showed it rather to be the place to occupy oneself in matters of sex than in those of chastity.
In this place were to be found all things necessary and in readiness that might either tempt the mind to lust, or entice the heart to folly, a court more suitable for an atheist, than for a pious person, for Ovid [who wrote about love] then for Aristotle [who wrote about intellectual matters], for a promiscuous person than for someone who lives a godly life: more appropriate for Paris (he stole another man’s wife] than Hector, [faithful husband of a faithful wife] and more suitable for Flora [goddess of the Spring and, presumably in Lyly’s mind, associated with mating] than Diana [virgin goddess].
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Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Thứ Ba, 15 tháng 4, 2008
Poring over “Pore” and “Pour”
Some confusion appears to exist regarding the use of pour and pore.
Charlie complains that he has to pour through stacks of badly-written letters to the editor every day.
In this context the word should be pore. The usual idiom is “to pore over.” Apparently the preposition “through” has entered into use, as in the above quotation, and as in this headline in the New York Times:
Teachers Pore Through Stacks Of Possibilities
The verb pore, with the meaning “examine closely,” may derive from two Old English words, a verb, spyrian, meaning “to investigate, examine,” and a noun, spor, meaning “a trace, vestige.”
The noun pore, meaning “an opening in the skin,” is not related to the verb in the expression “to pore over.” The noun comes from a Greek word meaning “a passageway.”
The verb pour, meaning to transfer water or some other substance from a container, came into English by way of Old French from a Latin verb, purare, “to purify.” In ritual practice, objects are purified by pouring water over them. The English word pure comes from Latin purus, “pure.” The Latin verb came from the Latin noun.
Memory device:
Lore is learning, knowledge, doctrine. To become well-versed in computer lore or the lore of magic, or the lore of religion, one must pore over learned tomes.
________________________________________
Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Charlie complains that he has to pour through stacks of badly-written letters to the editor every day.
In this context the word should be pore. The usual idiom is “to pore over.” Apparently the preposition “through” has entered into use, as in the above quotation, and as in this headline in the New York Times:
Teachers Pore Through Stacks Of Possibilities
The verb pore, with the meaning “examine closely,” may derive from two Old English words, a verb, spyrian, meaning “to investigate, examine,” and a noun, spor, meaning “a trace, vestige.”
The noun pore, meaning “an opening in the skin,” is not related to the verb in the expression “to pore over.” The noun comes from a Greek word meaning “a passageway.”
The verb pour, meaning to transfer water or some other substance from a container, came into English by way of Old French from a Latin verb, purare, “to purify.” In ritual practice, objects are purified by pouring water over them. The English word pure comes from Latin purus, “pure.” The Latin verb came from the Latin noun.
Memory device:
Lore is learning, knowledge, doctrine. To become well-versed in computer lore or the lore of magic, or the lore of religion, one must pore over learned tomes.
________________________________________
Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Chủ Nhật, 13 tháng 4, 2008
Words you can cut
One of the best ways to make your writing stronger is to cut unnecessary words. Many people tend to over-write, often in a similar way to how they would speak. Words creep in that add no meaning and can make a piece of writing sound vague and woolly rather than confidence and precise.
Just
This is one of the worst offenders for me. I over-use it in email, typing:
"I just thought I'd drop you a note"¦"
"Just writing to ask"¦"
"If you could just give me a call"¦"
In almost every case, striking out the word "just" will make a sentence stronger. It tends to make you sound either desperate when applied to yourself ("I just wondered if you could"¦") or demanding when applied to the other person ("If you would just"¦").
Really
Like "just", this is another word which can frequently be cut. It's often found partnering "just", in which case you might want to rewrite the whole sentence.
"You can really improve by"¦"
"You don't really want to"¦"
"I'm really just trying to "¦"
Using the word "really" about yourself makes it sounds as though you believe the other person is unsure of your intentions; "I'm really writing the report" can sound defensive. And using it about someone else can sound patronising phrases like "that's really good!" are best kept for the kindergarten.
Quite
This insidious word tends to water down the meaning of a sentence or, worse, make it unclear. It usually means "a bit" as in "I quite liked it", but can also mean "completely" as in "Quite right." Most people have little difficulty understanding those, but sentences like "I was quite outraged" can be taken either way.
"I'd quite like you to "¦"
I'm feeling quite upset about it."
"I don't think you quite understand…"
There are some circumstances where you may well want to keep the word "quite", particularly when trying to justify something over-running. "Quite" is useful in suggesting both "almost there" and "soon", and saying "The files aren't quite ready yet "¦" implies it won't be much longer, whereas "The files aren't ready yet" can sound like stone-walling.
Perhaps
Like many of the words above, "perhaps" makes your writing sound uncertain. It can obscure meaning, or weaken an otherwise powerful statement, and often causes confusion.
"Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch."
"And then perhaps you'd like to "¦"
"Perhaps if I "¦"
The main problem in all these cases is that the word "perhaps" means your intention is unclear. If you email someone suggesting "Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch", are you proposing a lunch meeting, or just idly wondering whether it's possible? The "perhaps" also makes it unclear what part of the suggestion is in doubt; do you think twelve might not be the best time, or do you suspect the other person won't want to get lunch?
That
This is another word which creeps into my writing where it's not needed. It's fine when necessary, but can often be cut without any loss of meaning usually when it's preceded by a noun.
"This is the house that Jack built."
"Can you remember the time that we asked people to arrive?"
"I liked the design that you came up with."
Make sure you don't cut valid instances of the word, usually where "that" comes before the noun. "I need that document by five" makes sense, "I need document by five" is only safe in a very informal context and if you're sure the other person knows which document you mean.
Putting it all together
If you email someone with –
"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."
– you come across as diffident, uncertain and sound like you're babbling. It's also unclear whether you do need those documents straight away, or whether you're simply enquiring whether they could be sent soon.
But if you delete the five unnecessary words, you'll get –
"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."
"I wondered if you could send those documents I mentioned soon."
This sentence is much clearer, more concise, and likely to elicit a quick response.
So when you've written an email, article, report or even a piece of fiction, check through for the words just, really, quite, perhaps and that and see if you can improve the piece by cutting them out.
------------------------------
Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Just
This is one of the worst offenders for me. I over-use it in email, typing:
"I just thought I'd drop you a note"¦"
"Just writing to ask"¦"
"If you could just give me a call"¦"
In almost every case, striking out the word "just" will make a sentence stronger. It tends to make you sound either desperate when applied to yourself ("I just wondered if you could"¦") or demanding when applied to the other person ("If you would just"¦").
Really
Like "just", this is another word which can frequently be cut. It's often found partnering "just", in which case you might want to rewrite the whole sentence.
"You can really improve by"¦"
"You don't really want to"¦"
"I'm really just trying to "¦"
Using the word "really" about yourself makes it sounds as though you believe the other person is unsure of your intentions; "I'm really writing the report" can sound defensive. And using it about someone else can sound patronising phrases like "that's really good!" are best kept for the kindergarten.
Quite
This insidious word tends to water down the meaning of a sentence or, worse, make it unclear. It usually means "a bit" as in "I quite liked it", but can also mean "completely" as in "Quite right." Most people have little difficulty understanding those, but sentences like "I was quite outraged" can be taken either way.
"I'd quite like you to "¦"
I'm feeling quite upset about it."
"I don't think you quite understand…"
There are some circumstances where you may well want to keep the word "quite", particularly when trying to justify something over-running. "Quite" is useful in suggesting both "almost there" and "soon", and saying "The files aren't quite ready yet "¦" implies it won't be much longer, whereas "The files aren't ready yet" can sound like stone-walling.
Perhaps
Like many of the words above, "perhaps" makes your writing sound uncertain. It can obscure meaning, or weaken an otherwise powerful statement, and often causes confusion.
"Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch."
"And then perhaps you'd like to "¦"
"Perhaps if I "¦"
The main problem in all these cases is that the word "perhaps" means your intention is unclear. If you email someone suggesting "Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch", are you proposing a lunch meeting, or just idly wondering whether it's possible? The "perhaps" also makes it unclear what part of the suggestion is in doubt; do you think twelve might not be the best time, or do you suspect the other person won't want to get lunch?
That
This is another word which creeps into my writing where it's not needed. It's fine when necessary, but can often be cut without any loss of meaning usually when it's preceded by a noun.
"This is the house that Jack built."
"Can you remember the time that we asked people to arrive?"
"I liked the design that you came up with."
Make sure you don't cut valid instances of the word, usually where "that" comes before the noun. "I need that document by five" makes sense, "I need document by five" is only safe in a very informal context and if you're sure the other person knows which document you mean.
Putting it all together
If you email someone with –
"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."
– you come across as diffident, uncertain and sound like you're babbling. It's also unclear whether you do need those documents straight away, or whether you're simply enquiring whether they could be sent soon.
But if you delete the five unnecessary words, you'll get –
"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."
"I wondered if you could send those documents I mentioned soon."
This sentence is much clearer, more concise, and likely to elicit a quick response.
So when you've written an email, article, report or even a piece of fiction, check through for the words just, really, quite, perhaps and that and see if you can improve the piece by cutting them out.
------------------------------
Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Thứ Bảy, 12 tháng 4, 2008
Word of the day
Dictionary: fettle (fĕt'l)
n:
1. Proper or sound condition.
2. Mental or emotional state; spirits: was in fine fettle.
3. Loose sand or ore used to line the hearth of a reverberatory furnace in preparation for pouring molten metal.
tr.v. Metallurgy., -tled, -tling, -tles.
- To line the hearth of (a reverberatory furnace) with loose sand or ore in preparation for pouring molten metal.
[From Middle English fetlen, to make ready, possibly from Old English fetel, girdle.]
n:
1. Proper or sound condition.
2. Mental or emotional state; spirits: was in fine fettle.
3. Loose sand or ore used to line the hearth of a reverberatory furnace in preparation for pouring molten metal.
tr.v. Metallurgy., -tled, -tling, -tles.
- To line the hearth of (a reverberatory furnace) with loose sand or ore in preparation for pouring molten metal.
[From Middle English fetlen, to make ready, possibly from Old English fetel, girdle.]
Thứ Sáu, 11 tháng 4, 2008
Reader Piqued By French Mutilations
Posted: 08 Apr 2008 04:46 AM CDT
Mari, one of our readers, writes:
Perhaps…you could address a problem that seems to have reached epidemic proportions: the difference between pique, peek and peak. Recently I have been inundated with people giving ’sneak peaks’ and having their curiosity ‘peeked’.
I pointed out the “peak” for “peek” spelling myself in an earlier article. It’s an easy mistake to make since ee and ea are alternate English spellings for the long e sound.
Misspelling the French word pique is a shame since it looks so cool. And there’s not much excuse for doing so. English writers don’t seem to have any trouble with the word unique which is spelled according to the same pattern.
Mari is also troubled by the cutesy spelling of French Voilà as “Walla.”
while you’re at it, perhaps you would add ‘Voila’ … I might be forced to blind myself if I see ‘Walla’ again.
I suppose that people who write Voilà as “walla” may feel it’s closer to the French pronunciation, but even if it were, which it isn’t that much, the weird spelling “walla” is confusing. It makes me think of “wallah” as in “laundry wallah.”
When I googled “walla,” I discovered that the word actually has meanings.
Walla is radio broadcasting jargon for a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background.
The word walla is a way of swearing by God in Arabic.
Walla! is an Israeli internet news portal, search engine, and email service provider.
While we’re on the subject of mutilations of French expressions, here’s one that gets me.
chaise longue - a chair that holds up the sitter’s legs; a deck chair
Americans long ago changed the longue, meaning “long,” to lounge, since that is what one does on such a chair.
Chaise lounge no longer bothers me, but I do have expectations regarding the pronunciation of chaise, My preferred pronunciation is /shez/, but I’ll even settle for /chaiz/.
The fingernail scraped the blackboard, however, when I watched a Wal-mart television ad for lawn furniture the other evening. The cheery salesman wanted to sell his customer a “chase lounge.”
Here are a few other French words and expressions that should be written or spoken with care.
chic /sheek/ stylish
coup de grâce /ku dÉ™ grahs/ (literally “mercy blow”) - killing a wounded creature to end its suffering.
déjà vu /day jah voo/ (literally, “already seen”) - the feeling that one is experiencing an event that has happened previously. It is NOT amusing when people say “déjà vu all over again.”
faux /foe/ (false) jewelers often advertise “faux pearls.” Copywriters must take care not to write ads offering “genuine faux pearls.”
fiancé /fee ahn say/ man engaged to be married
fiancée /fee ahn say/ woman engaged to be married
hors d’oeuvre /or derve/ (literally “out of” or “apart from the work, i.e., the main course”) Thought: People who write “walla” for voilà probably say /hors duvers/ for hors d’oeuvres.
risqué /ris kay/ off-color, naughty, as in a risqué joke.
RSVP (abbreviation for Répondez s’il vous plaât, “Reply if it pleases you”) Added to invitations for which the host wishes to know if the guest is coming or not. “Please RSVP” is redundant, but common.
vis-à-vis /vee zah vee/ (literally “face to face”) The French meaning was once more common in English than it is now. Dancers were said to dance vis-à-vis. There was a style of horse-drawn coach called a vis-à-vis in which passengers sat facing one another. Now, however, vis-à-vis is used more often to mean “in relation to” as in these headlines:
Senior Citizens vis - a- vis the Indian Society
Vietnam vis a vis Iraq in Congressional Debate–Lessons Learned? Or Biases Deeply Ingrained?
NATION-STATES VIS-A-VIS ETHNOCULTURAL MINORITIES
The headlines also illustrate the various ways that vis-Ã -vis is written in English.
Voilà ! /vwah lah/ (”There it is!”) If you decide to eschew the “walla” spelling, take a close look at the vowels and the direction of the accent mark. Don’t write “voilà¡” or “violà .”
voir dire /vwar deer/ (literally “to see to say”) a legal term you’ve probably heard on Law and Order. It refers to jury selection.
So, spice up your speech and writing with French words and expressions. Just don’t mutilate them when you do.
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Copyright Daily Writing Tips
Mari, one of our readers, writes:
Perhaps…you could address a problem that seems to have reached epidemic proportions: the difference between pique, peek and peak. Recently I have been inundated with people giving ’sneak peaks’ and having their curiosity ‘peeked’.
I pointed out the “peak” for “peek” spelling myself in an earlier article. It’s an easy mistake to make since ee and ea are alternate English spellings for the long e sound.
Misspelling the French word pique is a shame since it looks so cool. And there’s not much excuse for doing so. English writers don’t seem to have any trouble with the word unique which is spelled according to the same pattern.
Mari is also troubled by the cutesy spelling of French Voilà as “Walla.”
while you’re at it, perhaps you would add ‘Voila’ … I might be forced to blind myself if I see ‘Walla’ again.
I suppose that people who write Voilà as “walla” may feel it’s closer to the French pronunciation, but even if it were, which it isn’t that much, the weird spelling “walla” is confusing. It makes me think of “wallah” as in “laundry wallah.”
When I googled “walla,” I discovered that the word actually has meanings.
Walla is radio broadcasting jargon for a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background.
The word walla is a way of swearing by God in Arabic.
Walla! is an Israeli internet news portal, search engine, and email service provider.
While we’re on the subject of mutilations of French expressions, here’s one that gets me.
chaise longue - a chair that holds up the sitter’s legs; a deck chair
Americans long ago changed the longue, meaning “long,” to lounge, since that is what one does on such a chair.
Chaise lounge no longer bothers me, but I do have expectations regarding the pronunciation of chaise, My preferred pronunciation is /shez/, but I’ll even settle for /chaiz/.
The fingernail scraped the blackboard, however, when I watched a Wal-mart television ad for lawn furniture the other evening. The cheery salesman wanted to sell his customer a “chase lounge.”
Here are a few other French words and expressions that should be written or spoken with care.
chic /sheek/ stylish
coup de grâce /ku dÉ™ grahs/ (literally “mercy blow”) - killing a wounded creature to end its suffering.
déjà vu /day jah voo/ (literally, “already seen”) - the feeling that one is experiencing an event that has happened previously. It is NOT amusing when people say “déjà vu all over again.”
faux /foe/ (false) jewelers often advertise “faux pearls.” Copywriters must take care not to write ads offering “genuine faux pearls.”
fiancé /fee ahn say/ man engaged to be married
fiancée /fee ahn say/ woman engaged to be married
hors d’oeuvre /or derve/ (literally “out of” or “apart from the work, i.e., the main course”) Thought: People who write “walla” for voilà probably say /hors duvers/ for hors d’oeuvres.
risqué /ris kay/ off-color, naughty, as in a risqué joke.
RSVP (abbreviation for Répondez s’il vous plaât, “Reply if it pleases you”) Added to invitations for which the host wishes to know if the guest is coming or not. “Please RSVP” is redundant, but common.
vis-à-vis /vee zah vee/ (literally “face to face”) The French meaning was once more common in English than it is now. Dancers were said to dance vis-à-vis. There was a style of horse-drawn coach called a vis-à-vis in which passengers sat facing one another. Now, however, vis-à-vis is used more often to mean “in relation to” as in these headlines:
Senior Citizens vis - a- vis the Indian Society
Vietnam vis a vis Iraq in Congressional Debate–Lessons Learned? Or Biases Deeply Ingrained?
NATION-STATES VIS-A-VIS ETHNOCULTURAL MINORITIES
The headlines also illustrate the various ways that vis-Ã -vis is written in English.
Voilà ! /vwah lah/ (”There it is!”) If you decide to eschew the “walla” spelling, take a close look at the vowels and the direction of the accent mark. Don’t write “voilà¡” or “violà .”
voir dire /vwar deer/ (literally “to see to say”) a legal term you’ve probably heard on Law and Order. It refers to jury selection.
So, spice up your speech and writing with French words and expressions. Just don’t mutilate them when you do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Daily Writing Tips
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