On 11/23/2013 03:55 PM, Chris Murphy wrote: > > On Nov 23, 2013, at 3:47 AM, Andrew Haley <aph@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> On 11/22/2013 09:44 PM, Chris Murphy wrote: >> >>> Nope, you're wrong. Find a copy of New Oxford American Dictionary >>> and look up the words and usage. I seriously doubt even Oxford >>> English makes such a big distinction between two words that share >>> the same etymology and have no good reason for meaning different >>> things. >> >> I doubt it. Fowler is pretty definite: >> >> "Alternative (offering a choice) had formerly also the sense now >> belonging only to alternate (by turns); now that the differentiation >> is complete, confusion is even less excusable than between definite >> and definitive." > > Sounds like someone at Fowler has a bone to pick, but they've gone > out too far on a limb. There is a clear differentiation between > definite and definitive that most anyone can easily understand, yet > they're proposing there's an even greater distinction between > alternate and alternative that no one would care about. Well, Fowler's Modern English Usage is Oxford Dictionaries' reference work on English usage, so I can say without any reasonable fear of successful contradiction that when you "seriously doubt even Oxford English makes such a big distinction" you surely are wrong. Andrew. -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
