BIG WORDS FOR LITTLE IDEAS.

276. 1. Abundance. This word is applicable to quantity only. It should never be used when numbers are referred to. [See Quantity and Plenty, p. 139.]

2. Accord for grant.—To accord means properly 'to agree to,' 'to suit;' as, "His views accorded with mine;" but "We will accord them (or to them) all they ask for " is incorrect.

3. Anticipate.—This big word is often misused for the simple term expect, in such sentences as, "I anticipate going." "Do you anticipate a large crowd tonight?" It is correctly used in the following sentence: "My friend anticipated my wishes and made me a present of a copy of the poems." (402.)

4. Appreciate for rise, or 'increase in value;' as, “Gold usually appreciates under such circumstances." This is an Americanism that should be avoided by all who wish to talk to be understood.

5. Caption. This word is sometimes misused for title or heading. (403.) 6. Carnival.-The radical and literal meaning of this word is 'farewell to meat.' In Catholic countries it signifies a festival celebrated with merriment and revelry during the week before Lent, but in this country the word has been misused to signify a spree, frolic, or festival of any kind. Mathews, commenting on this word, says: "As we have plenty of legitimate words to describe these festivals, the use of this outlandish term has not a shadow of justification."

7. Celebrities.-The use of this word for celebrated persons or persons of celebrity belongs to an inflated, newspaper style too common in this country. In fact, its use has hardly passed beyond reporters' columns, but persons with big-word tendencies would do well to guard against it.

8. Consummated.-Persons who speak of weddings and say that the marriage was consummated at such a time or such a place might better confine themselves to plain English and say that the ceremony or wedding' occurred ' or 'took place,' etc.

9. Contemplate for intend or expect.-Contemplate means primarily to study, to consider, to meditate upon. Persons who are predisposed to use big words will often say they 'contemplate,' when they mean and might better say, simply, that they intend or expect to do so and so.

10. Depreciate for lessen or decrease. This word may properly be used in the sense of 'underrate' or to represent as of little value,' but its use in the sense of 'lessen' or 'decrease' is as unnecessary and inexcusable as appreciate for 'rise' or 'increase.'

277.

II. Disremember.-This is certainly a poor substitute for 'forget' or 'do not remember.'

12. Extend for give or send.—Persons who wished to appear elegant in their language began to say "extend invitation," "extend congratulations;” and now nearly every one uses the word in these connections, supposing it to be a synonym of give or send. But such a use of the word is unwarranted. Extend means 'to stretch forth,' ' to prolong,' 'to enlarge;' hence it is correct to speak of extending the time of a bill or note, or of extending one's hand, or to say of a queen that 'her object is to extend her domains.' (2.)

13. Gubernatorial.-Richard Grant White, in "Words and their Uses," classes this among the 'words that are not words' and comments upon it as follows: "This clumsy piece of verbal pomposity should be thrust out of use and that speedily. While the chief officers of states are called governors and not gubernators, we may better speak of the governor's house, and of the governor's room than of the 'gubernatorial mansion' and the 'gubernatorial chamber;' and why that which relates to government should be called 'gubernatorial' rather than governmental, except for the sake of being at once pedantic, uncouth, and outlandish, it would be hard to tell."

14. Inaugurate for adopt, begin, open, establish.—Inaugurate means primarily 'to introduce or induct into an office with suitable ceremonies.' It does not mean adopt, begin, etc., except as it has been forced to such a meaning by persons for whom the latter words are too ordinary. We adopt measures, methods, etc.; we begin, open, establish a business; we inaugurate Presidents. (404.)

15. Initiate. “Initiate is one of the long, pretentious words that are coming into vogue among those who would be fine. It means begin; no more, no less."-White. (405.)

16. Militate for oppose, contend, 'to be at variance with;' as, "The circumstances militate against such a view of the case."

17. Obnoxious for offensive.—Obnoxious means 'liable' or 'exposed to harm,' and its use (unknown until about the beginning of the present century) in the sense of "offensive" should be avoided.

18. Observe for say.—The primary meaning of observe is to keep carefully, to heed; as, to observe the Sabbath; but the word is sometimes incorrectly used in the sense of say. (406.)

19. Paraphernalia.—This big word from the Greek is often misused by people who do not understand its literal meaning and who might better say ornaments' or 'trappings' instead. (407.)

20. Partake for eat.-Partake means literally 'to take a part,' and while it has its proper use it is too often misused for the simple word eat; as, “He partook of his breakfast in silence."

21. Perambulate for walk or stroll.-Those who have a fondness for big words to express little ideas speak of "perambulating the streets," or perambulating through the park," when they mean "walking," or "strolling."

22. Predicate for found or base.-Predicate as a verb means 'to speak be. fore,' hence, 'to assert,' 'to declare;' but some persons with an affectation to learning have used it in the sense of base or found; as, "What action shall we predicate upon the statements made by the committee?" (408.)

23. Proposition for offer or proposal.—A proposal is something offered to be done. The use of proposition to signify 'proposal' or 'offer' is unnecessary, and its use in that sense in commercial affairs doubtless grew out of the tendency to use high-sounding terms where small terms would do just as well. Proposition has its other legitimate meanings, to which it should be confined.

24. Remunerate, Reimburse.-The primary meaning of remunerate is 'to pay,' 'to reward;' that of reimburse is 'to pay back,' 'to restore.' Persons who do not know the difference between the two words but insist upon using "big words for little ideas" are liable to get them ridiculously mixed. We remunerate (pay or reward) a man for services rendered, and we may say of a man's business that it is remunerative-one that pays well. A bankrupt's assets may partly reimburse his creditors; or we may reimburse a man for expenses he has incurred in doing business for us; that is, we pay back to him the sum he has paid out for us.

25. Retire.-Retire has a clear meaning and well defined uses, not one of which is in the sense of going to bed. "If you are going to bed, say so, should there be occasion; don't talk about retiring unless you would seem like a prig or prurient prude."- Words and Their Uses.

26. Transpire for happen or take place.-Probably no more striking perversion of a word from its true meaning can be found than that of transpire, when used in the sense of 'happen,' 'occur,' 'take place.' The real meaning of the word is become known; or it may be expressed by the phrase "leak out." Mr. White, in Words and Their Uses, gives the following test of the correct use of transpire: "If the phrase take place can be substituted for it and the intended meaning of the sentence is preserved, its use is unquestionably wrong; if the other colloquial phrase leak out [ become known] can be put in its place, its use is correct."

27. Witness for see or behold, etc.-The use of witness in the sense of "see" is wholly unnecessary and without excuse. Witness as a verb has its well established and legitimate use in the sense of attest, or bear testimony from personal knowledge. Hence we speak of witnessing a deed or other writing, of being an eye witness, and of witnessing (testifying) in a case in court; but we should not talk of having 'witnessed' a game of ball, of 'witnessing' (seeing, or beholding,) a sad sight, unless we wish to appear affected.

COUNTERFEIT WORDS.

278. 1. Anyways.-The s of this word is incorrectly added, as it is in anywheres, everyways, noways, nowheres, everywheres, backwards, forwards, towards, upwards, downwards, afterwards, homewards, &c., all of which should be written without the s. (723.) Likewise, the st in amidst, amongst, whilst, is superfluous. [See 409-10.]

2. Authoress; also doctress, editress, poetess, &c. As well might we say writeress, singeress, lawyeress, as authoress, etc. A poet is one who writes poetry; an editor, one who edits-not a man who edits, but a person who edits. Edward S. Gould ("Good English") says of the words "authoress " and "poetess: "They are philological absurdities, because they are fabricated on the false assumption that their primaries indicate men." [See 361.]

3. Agriculturalist.-This word should be agriculturist, just as we speak of a chemist, a geologist, not of a chemicalist, a geologicalist.

4. Casuality.-The proper form is casualty.

5. Conversationalist.—This word should be converser or conversationist; but most persons give it the unnecessary and incorrect syllable al, just as they do agriculturist.

6. Controversialist.—This word is a counterfeit of the same stamp as conversationalist, being incorrectly formed from the adjective when it should have been formed upon the verb controvert. The legitimate form is controverter or controvertist.

nouns.

7. Direful. We hear of "direful results," "a direful calamity," and so forth. Adjectives ending in ful are formed by suffixing the adjective full to Such adjectives are said to be " self-defining.” Their strict meaning is obtained by transposing the parts and placing of between them; thus, beautiful— ' full of beauty;' merciful—'full of mercy;' or, in their common meaning, 'possessing beauty,' 'having mercy.' But there is no such noun as dire. How then can we have direful?—'full of (or possessing) dire!' Of course, direfully (adv.) also is spurious. Dreadful, terrible, and woeful, express the idea intended by direful.

8. Donate.-Webster calls attention to the use of this word as being "of recent origin." It is, to say the least, a poor substitute for give, present, etc.

9. Electrocuted.-Executed, in the sense of 'put to death,' 'hanged,' 'beheaded,' 'shot,' is bad; but what shall we say of the absurd electrocuted which we are beginning to see in print? It has been erroneously formed on the assumption that the cute in execute means 'to kill,' which it does not. It is from sequi, meaning 'to follow.'

10. Enthused. Some persons talk of being enthused over a matter, meaning that they are aroused, stirred, excited, or inspired. This word was doubtless obtained, as Mr. White says, "by the backward process of making some kind of verb from the noun enthusiasm, as donate was formed from donation,”—a process of derivation (if such it may be called) that is contrary to the laws of growth and development of language.

II. Fellowship, Disfellowship, as verbs.-Example: An attempt to disfellowship an evil but to fellowship the evil doer. Nouns ending with ship express a condition or state; as, guardianship, authorship; and so, fellowship, meaning a condition or state of those who are associates or fellows, or who fellow with each other (fellow being an allowable verb). It would be just as reasonable to say of two queens that they will not queenship with each other, or that two senators will not senatorship with each other, as to say of two persons that they will not fellowship with each other. What is meant is that they will not associate with each other.

12. Firstly. Why firstly any more than eighthly, tenthly, and so forth? Webster says of firstly, "Incorrectly used for first."

13. Gent and Pants.-Gent is a vulgar contraction of gentleman. Pant, as a verb, means 'to breathe quickly,' 'to gasp;' as a noun, it means 'a catching of the breath,' 'a gasp.' Yet we see such signs as "Pants for sale," "Pants made to order." One who understands the legitimate meaning of the word can hardly refrain from asking "How much a pant?" To say the least, these two words are poor substitutes for the genteel gentleman and pantaloons. (411.)

14. Hydropathy, Electropathy.-These are monstrous absurdities gotten up by some one who wanted something more high-sounding than water-cure and electric-cure, which they are supposed to mean but which they do not mean. Hydro means 'water'; pathy is from a Greek word which means 'suffering' or 'disease'; and so hydropathy literally means "water disease" and electropathy, correctly rendered, is "electric disease."

15. Ice-water, Ice-cream.-It is not uncommon to see in print, or to hear the compound "iced-tea," which is the correct form, meaning tea that has been made cold by the use of ice. We should, for the same reason, say iced-water, instead of "ice-water," since we do not really mean water made from ice. Nor does "ice-cream" mean cream made from ice; hence it is properly iced-cream. "Strictly iced-water, iced-cream."-Century Dictionary.

16. Intercessed.-Persons who say they have been intercessed to do so and so mean that they have been entreated or urged. There is a noun intercession, and a verb intercede, which means 'to go between,' but there is no such verb as intercess from which the participle intercessed may be formed.

17. Intercessionate.—“To intercede with.' Let us hope that it may continue to be “rare."

[Rare.]-Century Dictionary.