Is the word “throwee” acceptable?

Question

I wanted to have a word to refer to the thing being thrown, so I decided to use the word "throwee". I can't find this word in online dictionaries, so I guess this word does not exist in the English language.

However, I really like this word and I would like to continue using it in my written communication. I'm not a native speaker, but from my experience with the language, "xee" means "object/person being xed" (where "x" is a verb, e.g. "employee" - "person being employed").

So, what do you think? Is the word "throwee" acceptable? Is it OK if I continue to use it? Should I use a different word?

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To provide context, I'm a JavaScript programmer. In the JavaScript programming language, there exists a throw statement, which throws values of various types (e.g. strings, numbers, objects).

// code examples
throw 123;
throw "Invalid argument";
throw new Error;

An usage example would be:

If the throwee is a Number value, then... .

which is more terse and IMO more readable than:

If the value being thrown is a Number value, then...

Answer 1

Neither the OED nor the Corpus of Contemporary American English nor the British National Corpus has any record of throwee, but a Google search produces some 40,700 pages containing it. Use it only if you think your intended readers will understand it. Many general readers, I suspect, would not.

Answer 2

In the context of programming languages, you are referring to an Exception. "Exception" is a widely-understood term; "throwee" is unacceptable as a synonym.

If you are concerned that it's still not clear enough, "Exception object" or "thrown object" is unmistakably clear.

Answer 3

To me, throwee sounds like the opponent of somebody demonstrating a martial-arts move, or maybe the height-challenged participant in a dwarf-tossing competition.

More precisely, I believe the suffix -ee is almost always used for people. For example, we use the word kidnappee when talking about kidnapped people, but there is no corresponding word *stealee when talking about stolen property. I would recommend against using the word throwee in this context.

Answer 4

There are multiple contexts here that I will try to answer.

• programming: 'throwing' is essentially an 'exception' process. The target of a thrown exception is either
  • a catch block (if you are referring specifically to Java like exceptions
  • an exception handler (for the generic concept of code or a process that receives/catches/handles something that is 'thrown'.
• the action of throwing with the arm
  • receiver or target is where the thrown object is intended, the first is active, the second passive
  • throwee is a questionably legal creation with the '-ee' suffix. It's not unpopular, people will know what you mean, it's not at all technical, and it is very informal.

Answer 5

Even if programmers will recognize "throwee" and, after a moment's reflection, realize that it refers to what is being thrown and not the code which is doing the catching, it's nonstandard and therefore awkward. You may prefer the short form, but you don't have to puzzle out what it means when you read it; anyone who does will prefer the long form (and that will be the majority of your readers who read it the first time).

Brevity does have its appeal, though. So use alternate phrasing instead:

If a Number value is thrown, then ...

(And is "value" really adding anything to that sentence? Are there any non-value Numbers?)

Answer 6

I would suggest projectile or missile in the general case, but of course in the case of exception throwing this isn't appropriate. At our codeshop we talk about 'the thrown exception'.

Answer 7

Throwee may be a very useful word for a midget-throwing contest.

Other than that, -ee should be restricted to people only.