I just noticed while writing a few examples of similar words that uncannily sound like each other phonetically. Examples: An example is the similar words: “gleaming”, “glittering”, “glinting”, and “glimmering”. Also: “repulsive” and “repugnant” are interesting. There are more words like this but I can’t think of them immediately on the spot. Obviously English is … Read more
If I let myself, I become upset and a bit terrified by smooth hard structures. A good example is the most perfect sphere in the world, seen here. It’s a polished sphere of solid silicon-28. The metal cylinder held by the host later in the video also creeps me out. A sphere of smooth concrete, … Read more
The word second can refer to ordinal #2 (that which comes after first), or a unit of time, 1/60 of a minute. Ordinarily you might think that this is just a coincidence, but in Spanish, the word segundo also means both a second (of time) and ordinal #2, which suggests that there’s some actual link … Read more
It seems to me combining “a-“and “rhythmic” would intuitively be spelled “arhythmic”. Is there a rule or some other practical reason that it’s spelled arrhythmic? Answer Actually, “arhythmic” is recognized by many dictionaries as an alternate spelling (for example, Merriam Webster). As Henry notes, the Greek word is ἄρρυθμος “arrhythmos”, so the spelling with one … Read more
Would you ever write "Users use" in an article, or it’s considered a bad word combination because two words share the same root? Thanks! Edited Here are some examples: Users can use the platform to deposit their assets … To use the protocol, users contribute their preferred asset. Answer It depends on the context. Writers … Read more
I read an article on the opposite of herarchy: Is heterarchy the answer to the crisis of hierarchy?, but the prefix of heterarchy seems suspect to me. I don’t find a prefix as heter then I thought that should be hetero but I find from here that the opposite of hetero is not hier but … Read more
I think of an epiphany as a “eureka moment” as in a goldminer crying out, “Eureka!” upon discovering a vein of gold (I’m a native Californian (and former resident of Eureka), so that example comes readily to mind). What about the opposite, though – an “Oh, no!” moment? Such as, “What I thought was gold … Read more
Prerogative, derogative, and interrogative all seem to have the root “rogative” (or perhaps it’s not a root at all) and I’m wondering what it means. I was having trouble seeing a connection between the three words. For assistance, here are their dictionary definitions: Prerogative: A right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class. … Read more
If one dissects the word “ineffable”, there are three main roots in – not able – able to be done eff The meaning of the root able implies that some part of the word before it must refer to an action. Given that in is solely and adverb in this case, that would, by default, … Read more
Is there any dictionary that shows the decomposition of each word into these three parts, if application at all? For instance, “incapable” is divided into prefix “in”, root “cap”, and suffix “able”. Thanks in advance. Answer Most of them if they give an etymology. Taking your examples, the OED gives: medieval Latin incapābilis, < in- … Read more
