Kirk Mahoney . com

I often hear people use one word when they mean the other.

Problem:
These two nouns are not synonyms.

Explanation:
I often hear people say something like “I have a theory about …”, such as “about why Janey stays out late” or “about why Jim does not like his boss” or “about why women generally have more close friends than do men”.

The primary definition of the noun “theory” is a substantiated group of statements that explain a set of phenomena.

In contrast, the primary meaning of the noun “hypothesis” is a proposed, tentative explanation for an observation or phenomenon.

As noted at Wikipedia, “A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.”

So one starts with observations, then formulates hypotheses to explain those observations, and then tests those hypotheses. Once those hypotheses have been validated, one can create a theory.

I believe that the common English blunder of using the word “theory” where the word “hypothesis” is required is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. (Note that I call this a hypothesis, not a theory!)

It is simpler to say or write the two-syllable, six-letter “theory” than it is to say or write the four-syllable, ten-letter “hypothesis”.

Solution:
Use “hypothesis” for a proposition to explain an observation. Use “theory” to refer to an analysis of a collection of facts and their relation to each other.

A personal confusion the other day about some of these words prompted this blog post.

Problem:
These nouns sound similar but are not all synonyms.

Explanation:
My wife bought a “balaclava” — with a “c” in the middle — to stay warm for her half-marathon last Sunday.

I have lived in the southwest U.S. my entire life and am not fluent in the names for cold-weather clothing.

So I thought that my wife said “baklava”, which is a word that she and I heard during our visit to Turkey two summers ago.

I researched both words and learned the following:

• A “baklava” — spelled B-A-K-L-A-V-A — is a sweet pastry that is popular in Turkey and is made from filo dough, nuts, and honey or syrup.
• A “baklawa” — spelled B-A-K-L-A-W-A — is the same sweet pastry, simply spelled with a “w” instead of a “v”.
• A “balaclava” — spelled B-A-L-A-C-L-A-V-A — is a knitted cap that fits closely around the head and neck and sometimes shoulders in order to keep the wearer warm.
• “Balaklava” — spelled CAPITAL-B-A-L-A-K-L-A-V-A — is a seaport on the Black Sea in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol.
• “Balaclava” — spelled CAPITAL-B-A-L-A-C-L-A-V-A — is the same seaport, simply spelled with a “c” instead of a “k”.

The lowercase-”b” “balaclava” garment dates back to the 1880s and is named after the capital-”B” “Balaklava” seaport.

If you have eaten both a “bear claw” and a “baklawa” or “baklava”, then you know that these two pastries do not even look alike, let alone have the same ingredients or taste alike.

However, in case you are wondering, the name “bear claw” is not related to “baklawa” (or “baklava”), even though they sound similar.

Instead, the name “bear claw” refers to a yeast-raised, almond-paste-flavored pastry that is prepared such that its shape evokes the image of a bear’s claw.

Wikipedia says that a “bear claw” is chiefly popular in the western states of the USA.

Adding to possible linguistic confusion, the U.S.-based “bear claw” is different than the Dutch “berenklauw”, which means “bear’s claw” — with a possessive apostrophe-”s” — in English.

Wikipedia says that a “berenklauw” — spelled B-E-R-E-N-K-L-A-U-W — is a Dutch snack on a wooden skewer and made with meatballs, fried onion rings, and peanut sauce.

To summarize, one conceivably could wear a balaclava in Balaclava while consuming a baklawa, a bear claw, and a berenklauw.

Solution:
Remember that the capital-”B” word for the Ukrainian seaport can be spelled with a “k” or a “c”, that the seaport is cold, and that the small-”b” “balaclava” is named after the seaport and is for keeping warm. Remember that the shorter “baklava” is the pastry and can be spelled with a “w” instead of a “v”.

I often see these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two nouns are not synonyms.

Explanation:
Identical pronunciation of these two nouns makes them homophones, as noted at Wikipedia.

The word “calorie” — with a lowercase “c” — means an amount of heat equal to 4.184 joules.

In case you do not remember your basic physics, one “joule” refers to the work done by a force of one newton acts through a distance of one meter or to the current of one ampere passed for one second through a resistance of one ohm.

The word “Calorie” — with a capital “C” — means 1000 calories (with a lowercase “c”), also known as a “kilocalorie” (also with a lowercase “c”).

The common English blunder is to write “Calorie” — with a capital “C” — as “calorie” — with a lowercase “c” — when referring to the energy value of a food item.

For example, a “2000-calories-per-day diet” — with a lowercase “c” — would provide almost no energy and might have been suitable for Mahatma Gandhi when he was on a hunger strike.

Aside: I recently saw a beautifully shot movie titled “Water” that weaves Gandhi into a story set in India. The story was fascinating and touching, and the acting was excellent. I highly recommend it!

In contrast, a “2000-Calories-per-day diet” — with a capital “C” — would be on the order of magnitude of what many adults require to maintain their body weights.

Solution:
Remember that capital “C” is larger than lowercase “c”, just as “Calorie” with a capital “C” is larger — in fact, one thousand times larger — than “calorie” with a lowercase or small “c”. When referring to the energy value of food, use “Calorie” with a capital “C”.

I sometimes see two or three of these nouns used interchangeably.

Problem:
Most Americans pronounce these nouns in the same way, but they have distinct meanings.

Explanation:
I confess that I do not make any distinctions in pronunciation of these four nouns, but I am sure that some people do.

My excuse for identical pronunciations is that all four nouns have the emphasis on the first syllable, and this makes it more difficult to pronounce different endings differently.

As noted at Wikipedia, identical pronunciation of these four nouns makes them homophones.

Nobody can pronounce the A-T word “carat” — starting with a “c” — differently than the A-T word “karat” — starting with a “k” — but these two nouns do have different meanings.

Here are the definitions of these four nouns:

• “carat” — spelled C-A-R-A-T and abbreviated “ct.” — means a unit of mass for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams. A five-carat diamond has a mass of one gram. The 3,106.75-carat Cullinan diamond, purportedly the largest rough, gem-quality diamond in the world, had a mass of 621.35 grams.
• “caret” — spelled C-A-R-E-T — means a proofreader’s mark (^) made in written or printed matter to indicate where something is missing. The noun “caret” is the third-person, singular form of the Latin verb “carere”, which means to lack, so there is lacking is the literal meaning of “caret” in Latin.
• “carrot” — spelled C-A-R-R-O-T — means Daucus carota, the name of a species of plant in the parsley family. The origin of “carrot” can be traced to words that meant “horn” or “head”.
• “karat” — spelled K-A-R-A-T and abbreviated “kt.” — means a unit of measure for the purity of a gold alloy, equal to 1/24 part. Pure gold is 24-karat gold; an alloy containing 50% gold is 12-karat gold.

There is a tricky part when it comes to the two nouns that end with A-T. Americans and Canadians favor the “c” word to refer to mass and favor the “k” word to refer to gold purity, but English writers elsewhere often use the “c” word — that is, C-A-R-A-T — to refer to mass and to gold purity.

This means that “24-carat ring” — spelled with a “c” instead of a “k” — could refer, especially outside the U.S. and Canada, either to a ring that weighs 24/200 grams or to a ring made of pure gold.

Personally, I would prefer a “24-karat ring” — with a “k” — over a “24-carat ring” — with a “c”. Buyer beware!

Solution:
Use the fact that “carat” (C-A-R-A-T) comes before “karat” (K-A-R-A-T) in the dictionary and the fact that “diamond” comes before “gold” in the dictionary to remember that the “c” word goes with diamonds and that the “k” word goes with gold. Use the “e” in “proofreading” to remember the “e” in “caret” (C-A-R-E-T). Finally, remember that vegetables rot when writing “carrot” (C-A-R-R-O-T).

I thought about these two words after my wife this morning talked about removing and replacing some floor tiles.

Problem:
Although the two verbs sound alike, only one of them refers to the process of removing and replacing something.

Explanation:
The verb “relay” — spelled R-E-L-A-Y — means to carry or pass along by or as if by relays.

The verb “re-lay” — spelled R-E-HYPHEN-L-A-Y — means to lay again.

In other words, one can not “relay” — without the hyphen — floor tiles.

Instead, one must “re-lay” — with the hyphen — floor tiles.

However, because the two verbs sound alike, one must have the context of an expression or sentence to determine whether the heard verb is “relay” — without the hyphen — or “re-lay” — with the hyphen.

Solution:
Use the verb “relay” — without the hyphen — when referring to the noun “relay”. Use the verb “re-lay” — with the hyphen — when referring to laying something again.

I sometimes hear discussions about whether “loan” is a verb.

Problem:
“Loan” in American English is a verb, but it has a specific meaning.

Explanation:
British English tends to avoid using “loan” as a verb, and British critics many years ago identified the use of “loan” as a verb as an Americanism.

Even though this website focuses on American English and not British English, there is a distinction to be made between “loan” and “lend” as verbs.

Some Americans use the verb “loan” as if it were completely synonymous with the verb “lend”, but this is a mistake.

The verb “loan” specifically means to make a loan of, and the noun “loan” specifically applies to physical transactions.

So it is correct in American English to ask “Can you loan him your car?”, although I prefer “Can you lend him your car?”

But it is incorrect in both British English and American English to say, “The colors loan the painting a sense of lightness.”

Solution:
If your audience is British, then never use “loan” as a verb. If your audience is American, then use “loan” as a verb only when referring to the lending of goods or money but never when referring to figurative transactions. The simplest solution is to avoid all use of “loan” as a verb.

I sometimes hear a distinction made between these two nouns.

Problem:
These two nouns are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
The primary definition of the noun “kind” is group or class of people, animals, or objects with the same character or nature, or identified together together because they have common traits.

The noun “kind” dates back to before 900, when it meant origin, race, or nature.

The primary definition of the noun “type” is a number of people or objects that share one or more characteristics, thereby causing them to be considered to be a group.

The noun “type” dates back to the mid-1400s, when it meant symbol or figure.

Solution:
Prefer “kind” when referring to people. Otherwise, use “kind” and “type” interchangeably.

I often hear these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two words, whether as adjectives or as adverbs, are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
Although it is true that “farther” and “further” have been used interchangeably for years, grammarians today increasingly consider these two words to have a physical-versus-metaphorical distinction.

As an adjective, the primary meaning of the word “farther” is more remote or distant than some place or something closer.

An example of the use of “farther” as an adjective is “The truck is on the farther side of the warehouse.”

As an adverb, the primary meaning of the word “farther” is to or at a great distance.

An example of the use of “farther” as an adverb is “Chuck Yeager flew farther toward outer space than did any of his contemporaries.”

As an adjective, the primary non-”farther” meaning of the word “further” is more extended.

An example of the use of “further” as an adjective is “Any further delay in our flight home would mean that we would not be home for Christmas.”

As an adverb, the primary non-”farther” meaning of the word “further” is to or at a more advanced point.

An example of the use of “further” as an adverb is “I may not go further with my studies until I pass that exam.”

Solution:
Use “farther” only for physical distance; prefer “further” for metaphorical distance (in space or time).

I thought about these nouns after seeing what I considered to be a misuse of one of them the other day.

Problem:
Many people are confused about which noun to use for which group of people.

Explanation:
My wife received in the mail two days ago a publication by her undergraduate and graduate-school alma mater.

The publication had a page devoted to one of its graduates.

The graduate was a woman, and the title on the page was “Alumni Profile” followed by her name.

I consider “Alumni” in the title to be inappropriate. I would have used “Alumna” instead. Here is the explanation.

The noun “alumnus” means a male graduate or former student of a particular university, college, or school.

The noun “alumna” means a female graduate or former student of a particular university, college, or school.

The noun “alumni” means male graduates or former students of a particular university, college, or school.

The noun “alumnae” means female graduates or former students of a particular university, college, or school.

Many colleges and universities use “alumni” to refer to males and females. This is analogous to the use of the masculine plural form in Spanish when referring to a group of only males or to a group of males and females.

Historically female colleges and universities that now accept males take a different tack: they use “alumnae and alumni” or “alumnae/i” to refer to their collective group of female and male graduates.

Solution:
Use “alumna” for a woman. Use “alumnae” for a group of women. Use “alumnus” for a man. Use “alumni” for a group of men or for a group of men and women. Never call an individual “an alumni” of a school, college, or university.

I often hear these words used interchangeably.

Problem:
It was not clear — at least not to me, anyway — which word is correct.

Explanation:
The word “preventive” as an adjective means serving to hinder or prevent.

The word “preventive” as a noun means a preventive measure or agent.

The word “preventive” dates back to 1630-1640.

The word “preventative” is noted by some dictionaries as being a synonym of the word “preventive” — whether as an adjective or as a noun.

However, at least one dictionary — Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary — says that “preventative” is incorrectly used instead of “preventive”.

Solution:
Given these facts, use “preventive” instead of “preventative” — as either an adjective or a noun.