Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

I think not, but look on this Wikipedia link about parental leave in different countries, scroll down to the large table and look under Romania. I don't think this is a real word, I tried doing an online dictionary search and all that was returned was Urban Dictionary. So this says to me: "I'm not a real word!"

Is it?

share|improve this question

4 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

This is one of those words like "preventative" — which appears to be for people who are, to quote Shakespeare, "full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse." Some people will invariably choose a longer word when a shorter one would do, even if there is a shorter version (preventive, disabled) of the same word. Possibly they are so deluded as to think it makes them sound smarter.

[Edited to fix typo.]

share|improve this answer
Ha, I think I agree with you there. I just took one look at the word and thought "This isn't right." – Kyle Sevenoaks Nov 23 '10 at 11:31
I suspect it's more likely a literal-translation-plus-guesswork from Romanian or something. – Benjol Nov 23 '10 at 11:40
I've usually seen it spelt "preventative" - presumably the users are intending to "preventate" something :-) That said, Merriam Webster says it's been with us since the 17th century... – psmears Jan 24 '11 at 14:41
@psmears: Yes, it was a typo. Thanks. This may have been my first response ever on this site, so I beg your indulgence. :) – Robusto May 26 '11 at 18:45
In my experience, "preventative" is actually more common than "preventive" in the UK, especially in the media. – Polynomial Nov 24 '11 at 14:18
up vote 6 down vote

We have both disabled and debilitated with related but distinct meanings, but as others have said, jamming them together does not make a real word.

share|improve this answer
Ah yes, I'd forgotten about debilitated. Thanks for pointing that out. – Kyle Sevenoaks Nov 23 '10 at 12:10
up vote 5 down vote

It actually says disabilitated, but for my money, no, it's not a 'real' word.

It should be disabled, I guess.

share|improve this answer
Thanks, I fixed my typo. I agree, this is definitely some made up word. Wikipedia should correct this soon :) – Kyle Sevenoaks Nov 23 '10 at 11:13
2  
@Kyle: Why don't you correct it? That's how Wikipedia works; there's a big "Edit" button at the top. – Jonik Nov 23 '10 at 11:15
I did, thanks :) – Kyle Sevenoaks Nov 23 '10 at 11:20
up vote 1 down vote

Use this general rule: If you can remove the prefix and the word still works, you might be ok. For your word: disabilitated, if we remove dis- we have abilitated, which is not a word. Thus, disabilitated is also not a word. You pretty much have to have a valid word to start with in order to be able to add prefixes to it and still be ok.

share|improve this answer
Dis- is a non-inflectional prefix. You probably wanted to remove the inflectional suffix -ed. – RegDwighт♦ Nov 23 '10 at 17:01
That's true. You must have seen my post prior to my correction. – Captain Claptrap Nov 23 '10 at 17:09

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.