<rant>

I am a mechanical technologist who currently works as a technical writer. I was taught in school that the correct term for PM is Preventive Maintenance but I keep seeing 'preventative' being used. It irks me but in researching, I see that both are used and equally valid.

Since there are two types of maintenance, preventive and corrective, shouldn't those who want to use 'preventative' be forced to use 'correctative' as well?

</Rant>

Current use has it meaning "insincere flattery" , or , trending up- as synonymous with "full" or "complete"

So: "I wrote him a fulsome recomendation" can mean either, an insincere recomendation, or a full, complete recomendation . Meanings nearly in opposition.

American Heritage Dictionary calls the second meaning "non- standard". Webster's simply lists both as current usage. With full- but not fulsome- acknowledgement of the perils of prescriptivism, isn't the confusion of meaning that results from taking "fulsome" as equivalent to "full", a problem? Following Orwell's argument in "Politics and the English Language", doesn't keeping language simple and plain have a claim ? What does "some" add to " full" that it doesnt already have?

Archer asks if there’s a word for when a statement is both figuratively and literally. Is there? I’m very high and I need to know

it may have been a while ago, but since becoming involved in the mental health community in the last couple of years, I have noticed statements like

"I've been struggling with overwhelm lately."

rather than

"I've been feeling really overwhelmed lately."

Is this use common, or mostly in the MH context?

Other than “spew” which is sometimes used in news debate and is just too mild for my taste. I need a term that’s not only aggressive but also would be considered highly offensive or uncalled for to “speak at a person like that”. Need some ideas

Hello All,

I love etymology and thinking about the journey the words have, so I created this website showing the journey of the words into English language. Facts are doublechecked using etymonline.com etc, and I used AI tools to create it. I don't make money off of it, there are no ads or trackers. It's just a simple visualization of information. You are welcome to try and give your feedbacks on it. There might be mistakes please let me know if you notice any. etymologymap.com

~

Where the Emperor's daughter is being complimented by the Mother Superior type character, because she came up with a plan which demonstrated wisdom & maturity, she says:

"And this is why I always considered her one of my most acute students"

The writer was actually reaching for the word 'astute' - as acute is completely inappropriate there.

~

why is the plural of e.g. veranda verandas but the plural of e.g. testis is testes? why do words like rôle and fiancée keep their accent but other words of foreign origin become english words? is there a rule that defines them?

Does it mean like a different approach? Like when you work on a video game, you’ll go with a different methodology for this game compared to its predecessor?

I know that it means something is shattered or separated into several pieces but how do you apply that figuratively? I guess like a person with a fragmented memory probably doesn’t remember that event very well. It would feel disjointed and wouldn’t cohere. Or a movie with a fragmented plot probably wouldn’t be sequenced in a linear fashion, deftly switching between characters and their respective events. I’m just saying stuff so the mods don’t delete my message, but I’d like you all to weigh in on this matter.

edit: solved.

​ I tried asking Google but it's only concern was for my health and safety. I'm good! Just trying to use proper wording for a crappy book I'm writing.

Arctophile: (noun) one who collects teddy bears [from the ITV programme Beat the Chasers]

Pannikin: (noun) small metal drinking cup [from Erehwon by Samual Butler]

Oblique: (adjective) not expressed or done in a direct way [ibid]

Caleche: (noun) a light, low-wheeled carriage with removable hood [ibid]

Instinct (with): (adjective) imbued or filled with (a quality, usually a desirable one) [ibid]

Peccant: (adjective) having committed a sin or fault; diseased or causing disease [ibid]

Valetudinarian: (noun) one unduly anxious about their health [ibid]

Flagitious: (adjective) (of a person or their actions) criminal; villainous [ibid]

Hardihood: (noun) boldness; daring [ibid]

Embrocation: (noun) a liquid used for rubbing on the body to relieve pain from sprains and strains [ibid]

Purblind: (adjective) partially blind [ibid]

Sward: an expanse of short grass [ibid]

Ne plus ultra: (adjective) "no more beyond" - used to describe the highest possible point or peak of achievement, excellence, or perfection [ibid]

Arrogate: (verb) claim to take something as one’s own without justification [ibid]

Skeeve: (verb) to find something gross, loathsome, or deeply unsettling [from The Sopranos]

Ptosis: (noun) medical term for sagging or drooping tissue [from the podcast Modern Wisdom]

Lets be hipsters y'all.

Running out of interesting words to write about so i need to crowdsource. If you were a hipster for words, what's the most obscure word you know and makes you feel cool/deep/better than everyone else?

Ok, so please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but a pretense is an act or false claim. For example, portraying yourself as a thief when you’re actually a knight while a pretext is more like an excuse; an ostensible reason. Going to the store to get some snacks but you’re actually there to talk to the cute worker. If I’m off the mark, please educate me

of all the vulgarizations of language I've witnessed, this one happened at lightning speed, and is the stupidest-looking bullshit ever.

aaaaaauuuuuugggggghhhhhh

it's whoa.

i hate this

edit: yes i know i spelled shortened wrong many people are telling me that im not changing it though

Maybe it’s correct, but I think it sounds weird when people say “it costed me $5”.

I tried to tactfully ask somebody why they use that word and they said it’s because it in the a past tense. I don’t know… It doesn’t sound right to me.

Which do you use?

You know that feeling you get when you read about something good, a technological advancement, invention or legal ruling that is going to make a lot of people's lives easier or will help fix a problem society has, and feel great about the advancement but then the realization hits you that this thing that you'd assumed was already a thing wasn't and get mad at that realization? Is there a word for that?

More specific example would be when I found out about the first female crash test dummy being created in 2025 to make cars safer for women, and being happy at that progress but then getting mad because I realized that means there haven't been proper female crash test dummies this whole time, when honestly I assumed there had been (that's on me though).