Versus

“Polka Dot” vs. “Polka-dot” vs. “Polkadot”

Adjectives, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Versus

I wondered which spelling was correct after seeing each in writing.

Problem:
One of the three spellings is incorrect.

Explanation:
The compound noun “polka dot” — with a space in the middle — is an Americanism that dates back to the 1880s.

The word “polka-dot” — with a hyphen in the middle — is the adjectival form of this noun.

The word “polkadot” — with neither a hyphen nor a space in the middle — is not recognized in most dictionaries, although a search for this form (with the quotation marks) in Google returned about 2,090,000 matches.

In contrast, a search in Google for “polka dot” — with a space in the middle — returned about 9,300,000 matches.

I believe that the elimination of the space in more than two million Web instances is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to omit the space than to include it.

Solution:
Use “polka dot” — with a space — as a noun. Use “polka-dot” — with a hyphen — as an adjective. Never use the no-space, no-hyphen form, which is a misspelling of the other two forms.

“Avenge” vs. “Revenge”

Verbs, Versus

I heard both of these words yesterday, and it made me wonder about the difference between “avenge” and “revenge”.

Problem:
As transitive verbs, these two words are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
Some argue that the word “revenge” is never a verb.

However, if you accept that the word “revenge” can be a verb, then you should know the difference between “revenge” as a transitive verb and “avenge” as a transitive verb.

Lexicographers see motivation as the key distinction between the transitive verbs “avenge” and “revenge”.

The transitive verb “avenge” essentially means to take vengeance on behalf of, and its motivation relates to administration of appropriate punishment for an immoral or criminal act.

“The district attorney avenged the vagabond’s murder.” is an example of widely accepted use of the transitive verb “avenge”.

The transitive verb “revenge” essentially means to exact punishment for a wrong on behalf of, especially in a vindictive or resentful spirit, its motivation relates to true hatred, and it is stronger than the verb “avenge” at stressing retaliation.

“He revenged his brother’s murder.” is an example of widely accepted use of the transitive verb “revenge”.

Solution:
Use the transitive verb “avenge” with justice as the motivation, and use the transitive verb “revenge” with retaliatory hatred as the motivation.

“Scallion” vs. “Scallop”

Nouns, Versus

At the risk of sounding like the celebrity who did not know whether “Chicken of the Sea”-brand tuna was chicken or fish, today’s post is not a deep exploration into grammar but instead is a simple review of the definitions of two food words that sound somewhat alike and are spelled almost identically.

Problem:
The distinction between “scallion” and “scallop” has been a long-time problem for me, probably because I don’t eat one and rarely eat the other.

Explanation:
A “scallion” — spelled S-C-A-L-L-I-O-N — is a leek, a shallot, or any green onion. The noun “scallion” dates back to the early fourteenth century and is named after the onion of Ascalon — spelled A-S-C-A-L-O-N — which is a seaport of Palestine.

A “scallop” — spelled S-C-A-L-L-O-P — is a bivalve molusk that swims by clapping its shell valves together. The noun “scallop” dates back to the late fourteenth century and is related to the word for a thin slice of meat.

Solution:
Think “onion” when seeing the noun “scallion” with the mnemonic that both words end in I-O-N. Think seafood when seeing the noun “scallop” with the mnemonic that it does NOT rhyme with the word “onion” and therefore is NOT an onion.