Tagged Questions
2
votes
5answers
4k views
Which is higher — “hyper-”, “ultra-” or “super-”? [closed]
According to OED,
hyper-:
over, beyond, over much, above measure
ultra-:
beyond
super-:
over, above, higher than
They all have the meaning "higher than", but what is the order of ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
“Instable” or “unstable”?
From my experience, it seems that although unstable is more commonly used, instable is often preferred in engineering and scientific contexts, e.g. "aircraft instability", "instable algorithm".
Are ...
3
votes
2answers
816 views
“Reset” or “re-set”?
As far as I know there are two different meanings of the word "reset":
to restore an object/value to a previous/initial state - that's the most widely use of the word;
to set the value/state a ...
5
votes
2answers
750 views
Why does “pre-” change the meaning of “dominantly” to mean “for the most part; mainly”?
Consider the following two sentences:
People in North America are predominantly English speakers.
People in North America are dominantly English speakers.
Merriam-Webster defines ...
1
vote
3answers
608 views
Difference between “unlikeable” and “dislikeable”?
Is there a difference between unlikeable and dislikeable? It feels like there is, but I'm uncertain how to explain it.
0
votes
3answers
1k views
“Unconscious” versus “nonconscious” in everyday dialogue
These words have subtle distinctions in related research fields, but even there are often considered interchangeable or just an matter of tradition/trendiness in a particular field.
Since I am a bit ...
3
votes
1answer
534 views
How do I use the prefix 'de-' correctly?
Is there a dictionary dedicated to word prefixes? I'd like to know more about de-, but there's no uniform meaning; for example, in demystify it signifies a reverse action, while in delimit it's a ...
3
votes
0answers
114 views
What does “a-” before a verb mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The times they are a-changin'
The times are a-changing? Why a-?
While listening to some Bob Dylan I've noticed how he sometimes uses the construction a-verb (e.g. ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
Why does “unisex” mean both sexes?
There are some places where men and women are segregated — for example public toilets and public swimming pool changing areas.
By this I mean, for example, that there are "Men's toilets" and "Ladies' ...
1
vote
5answers
2k views
'Shelled' vs. 'deshelled'
Are they interchangeable? Do they really mean the same thing in this context?
As in the sentences:
I really enjoy these already shelled pistachios.
I really enjoy these already deshelled ...
14
votes
3answers
3k views
How does the “be-” prefix change the words to which it is applied? How did it come about?
What does the be- prefix change when applied to adjectives and verbs? There are many such words that seemed to be coined of this process, for example:
behold, beget, befallen, beridden, ...
32
votes
9answers
20k views
“Unregister” vs “Deregister”
The concept of "undoing a registration" is widely used in my line of work. While most dictionaries define unregister as the proper verb for it, several widely used and highly considered sources also ...
12
votes
4answers
3k views
“pseudo-”, “quasi-” “semi-” and
I was wondering about the meaning of "pseudo-", "quasi-" "semi-" and possibly other related prefixes, in general cases.
Particularly, in engineering and science, there are quite a few terms named ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
“Biweekly”, “bimonthly”, “biannual”, and “bicentennial”
What do lengths of time with the "bi" prefix mean"? I have understood bicentennial as once every two hundred years, but biannual as meaning twice a year. Do biweekly and bimonthly mean twice a week or ...
15
votes
4answers
2k views
Isn't the word “uninstall” wrong?
I've never understood this. Why is the proper usage "uninstall"? You can't actually "unin" something at all and this isn't that case with most (all?) other use cases. Examples:
You make someone ...
15
votes
3answers
4k views
What is the opposite of “meta”?
A while back I was talking about it with friends.
Another question indicates a few meanings of the "meta-" prefix. Considering that "meta" means, in simple words, "about itself" (like how metadata is ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Meaning of “pro” before a noun
First, is "pro" an abbreviated form of "professional"? If yes, does "Pro American" mean "Professional American"?
