Questions relating to semantics, the study of meaning.
2
votes
1answer
45 views
“Feeling well” adverb ambiguity
Am I just crazy, or is there some ambiguity in the phrase "feeling well"?
Example:
Billy has a genetic defect that causes him to lose sensation in his fingertips every few days, or so. "How are you ...
-1
votes
0answers
33 views
Semantic meaning vs Literal meaning [closed]
There is a word:
WaLee
This word has two morphemes:
Wa which means words, and
Lee means something which has been preserved.
CASE A: The meaning of this word, by usage, is story.
CASE B: But ...
1
vote
1answer
112 views
Is there any other word meaning “prick” with initial onsets “pr-” except prick?
This is my edited question:
I look up in the etymological dictionay about prick, and find that prick is not a word derived from Proto-indo-european etymon.
Meanwhile, I find a lot of words meaning ...
-2
votes
1answer
71 views
What does the word “Hakim” sound and feel like? [closed]
I really enjoy the connotations of words, particularly now because I'm looking for a name for something. I'd like to know what this word (hakim) sounds like to native English speakers.
Obs: If ...
4
votes
0answers
95 views
Achievement Verbs with the Progressive Aspect
I was reading a grammar and saw this.
Achievement verbs describe actions that occur instantaeously.
He solved the problem.
He spotted the airplane.
These verbs fall into two classes - one is ...
1
vote
2answers
76 views
Difference between “technically possible” and “physically possible”?
Do you think these expressions can be used interchangeably? I find little or no differene between the two meanings. Does this question need more context?
3
votes
1answer
131 views
Is there a term for two differently phrased sentences with the same meaning?
Is there a term that describes the relationship between different sentences with the same meaning, in the way "synonym" describes the relationship between different words with the same meaning?
For ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Is “to” inclusive in “I worked at company X from April 2012 to April 2013”? [duplicate]
I have a question about the use of the word to as a time proposition. Is to inclusive in the following sentence?
I worked at company X from April 2012 to April 2013.
0
votes
2answers
71 views
Is “Cutting Across the Afternoon of Life” grammatical? [closed]
I'm using this for a title of short story. The title has to reflect the last line of the story, which is as follows:
A long, dark shadow cuts across the countless cubicles.
I've thought of ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
When a sentence contains both “not” and “or”, which one has priority?
I am changing a piece of text which current reads:
Payment not deducted
to also include the situation where payments are withheld. The suggested revision of text given to me is
Payment not ...
-2
votes
4answers
445 views
Is it acceptable to use “womyn” or “womin” instead of “women”?
I have often seen/heard these two terms in many articles and speeches about Feminism or women's rights issues. I couldn't find them in any online dictionary except for the Oxford Dictionary which ...
1
vote
3answers
81 views
Does ordering make a difference?
I would like to know whether there is a grammatical or semantical difference between "notion of " and "-notion". I do not know what to search for to answer this question so maybe someone can help me ...
3
votes
2answers
208 views
Is “I don't work here” literal or does it mean “I am not an employee of this establishment”? [closed]
Part of my work involves visiting retail establishments during business hours. Often, when mistaken for an employee of the store, I am asked a question about where to find something in the store, to ...
5
votes
2answers
91 views
How to analyze lightly varying senses of adjective *very*
Use of very as an adjective is (in my experience) most frequently attested in phrases like
...the very person I was looking for.
To use adjective very with the indefinite article sounds quite ...
6
votes
3answers
816 views
Is the phrase “it's just a matter of semantics” meaningless?
I hear this phrase from time to time, and I really don't know what it means. Two people are debating, and one says "the difference between your position and mine is just a matter of semantics." ...
2
votes
3answers
563 views
Is it appropriate to write RIP for expressing grief?
I came to this question after I saw a Facebook post about someone who passed away with everyone posting rip as a comment. Wikipedia tells me the following about the abbreviation of RIP:
"Rest in ...
1
vote
1answer
150 views
Guidelines for interpretation of “all but a few”
For a clause of the type [all but a few X] [Y], there seem to be two possible interpretations. The first one is "Y is the case for all things/people/places, except for a few X," as in the following ...
4
votes
1answer
301 views
Christmas: Christ + Mas? [closed]
What is the meaning of Christmas in the English language?
Christ + mas = Christmas?
Is it because Christ is associated with a cross that it sometimes reads X-mas?
And where is the mas coming ...
2
votes
2answers
398 views
“Don't condescend to me” or “Don't condescend me”? [closed]
I've recently heard that the correct usage is "Don't condescend to me", but I've always used
"Don't condescend me". Google has mixed quotes. Which is the correct usage?
The dictionary has this ...
1
vote
2answers
316 views
“I wouldn't ever” vs. “I would never”
The two expressions from the title, “I wouldn't ever” and “I would never”, are very similar. But are they completely equivalent or do they bear any subtle differences? If so, how do they differ in ...
0
votes
3answers
262 views
Semantic difference between “if I did not want” and “if I wanted”
I was reading My Antonia and came across this line:
[She] asked me if I did not want to go to the garden with her (12)
And was wondering why Cather chose if I did not want over if I wanted. Are ...
1
vote
3answers
456 views
Difference between “boundary” and “limit” [closed]
Is there a difference between the semantics of the two words boundary and limit?
Is it possible that only one of the two has an inclusive meaning regarding the set we want the limit/boundary of? ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
“Postfix” or “suffix”?
Wikipedia and The Free Dictionary were not much help — is there a practical difference in the semantics of suffix and postfix, except that the latter is more rare?
File name extensions are well ...
3
votes
4answers
213 views
“Your interview with him.” Who is the interviewer?
You write something like this:
I'm interested in your interview with Barack Obama.
Most people would take this to mean that it was Obama who was the interviewee (the one answering questions). ...
1
vote
3answers
101 views
Does “allegedly made a drug that does X” or “made a drug that allegedly does X” sound better? [closed]
As an engineering-type fellow, I was thinking about this article about a drug that replaces sleep.
It occurred to me that I could frame it in two ways:
Scientists allegedly created a drug that ...
7
votes
2answers
250 views
“for good” expression in an unfortunate event?
I just heard an expression while watching a TV series yesterday.
Someone just died and they said:
He is gone for good
I googled it and found that "for good" means "forever" in this context. But ...
-1
votes
1answer
601 views
phrases where opposite words can be used to mean the same thing [closed]
For example
"1 in 20 Americans suffer from..." and "1 out of 20 Americans suffer from..."
"it is down to you" and "it is up to you"
They seem like great ways to add to creative writing. Are there ...
4
votes
2answers
121 views
Does this phrase mean what I want it to mean?
I want to say that "the value decreases at a rate at least x" (i.e. faster than or equal to x). Does the phrase "the value decreases at minimum rate x" mean the same thing? If not, is there any other ...
7
votes
2answers
496 views
Is “want” a causative verb?
I've always held on to the definition that Causative Verbs express how the Noun before the Verb influences the execution of an action.
Similarly, the Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written ...
3
votes
3answers
897 views
How to Identify a Rhetorical Question?
I am familiar with the idea of a rhetorical question, but are there any criteria to mark or identify one? Can a rhetorical question be recognized alone or does it need surrounding context?
It ...
7
votes
2answers
409 views
Is there a clear delineation between the usages of 'this' and 'that' in American English?
One of my linguistics professors speaks English as a second language, and remarked that she never knows which of the two is appropriate. Given a list of examples, all native speakers in the classroom ...
2
votes
3answers
437 views
Indicator vs. Indication
The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives the following definitions.
Indicator - "one that indicates"
Indication - "something that serves to indicate"
How are they different? Is saying that an ...
1
vote
2answers
505 views
What is the distinction between terms 'where', 'while', 'whereas' and 'whenever'? [closed]
It seems all of these four words can denote 'at the same time' or 'if and only if', but do the meanings of them identical?
Update:
e.g.
Day comes where the sun rises.
Day comes whereas the sun ...
1
vote
2answers
517 views
Is it correct to use the word “then” to imply something of the past?
I am trying to identify something that was once a new thing. I used the word "then" to imply the subject as something that is already a past. But I am not sure if this is grammatically and ...
1
vote
0answers
462 views
Differences between 'Ideology' and 'Paradigm'? [closed]
What are the differences between the terms 'ideology' and 'paradigm'?
paradigm: the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time.
ideology: an orientation that ...
1
vote
1answer
308 views
“Is” with singular and plural nouns
I came across the sentence
My biggest grievance is grammar mistakes.
I'd be inclined to write it as
My biggest grievance is with grammar mistakes.
or
Grammar mistakes are my biggest ...
2
votes
3answers
119 views
Fact in Fiction [closed]
Is a fact implied within fictional literature still a fact actually?
Imagine this real-life conversation:
Person 1: "Does Deadpool have better healing abilities than Wolverine?"
Person 2: "I ...
0
votes
2answers
200 views
“bio“ VS “autobiography“ for a text field where users fill up their life stories (or histories)
The Oxford English Dictionary states that bio is an informal form of biography
and
biography
An account of someone’s life written by someone else.
So... Would it be more accurate to use ...
4
votes
1answer
198 views
Trouble with second conditionals (with **could**)
"I would do B if you could do A."
This is a statement which has been bothering me for quite a while. I come across such statements often and, to me, they make no sense. Could is the subjunctive of ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
I'll take you home / I'll bring you home
Being both non-natives, I had some discussion today about the following situation: suppose you're at a party and you want to take/bring your drunk buddy home.
I believe that:
"I'll take you home" ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
What exactly is “verbal irony”
My daughter has been given the task - by me - of explaining irony. She identified and did a jolly good job of explaining 5 of the 6 apparent types of irony: dramatic, cosmic, socratic, situational, ...
1
vote
3answers
272 views
Does *tourist* have a derogatory connotation of *inexperienced* or any other meanings in the clip of Ice Age3? [closed]
As a major in tourism, I've already acknowledged that tourists' notoriety among the destination dwellers by taking pictures of anything,disregarding the unwritten rules ... Here I will not go on to ...
1
vote
1answer
147 views
Is this sentence well formed? [closed]
I want a well formed sentence in english GB and US (two sentences if necessary…) from this french sentence:
Cette page n'existe pas dans cette langue. Voici son contenu original :
Here is what ...
4
votes
3answers
207 views
Does the word “catching” apply to people?
If we can say "I am running to catch the train", is it also appropriate to say that "I am going to the office early to catch the boss"?
1
vote
5answers
135 views
Precedence: and > or?
The question Precedence of “and” and “or” asks if there is any notion of precedence ordering in the English and it would seem not, based on the answers.
Regardless of that, if you saw the following ...
3
votes
4answers
265 views
It is an existential question
A question on another site asks, I have a laptop ... Now I am trying to install Windows 7 and it shows a message saying "Driver not found".
Whereupon a commenter asks, What is the "it" that shows ...
-4
votes
1answer
265 views
What is the primary sense of “evidently”? [closed]
I have just looked in three dictionaries (American Heritage, Canadian Oxford & OED) for the word evidently and all three give "obviously, clearly" as the primary definition, whereas "it would ...
9
votes
3answers
565 views
Can we call a person who loses things a “loser”?
Think > Thinker
Draw > Drawer
Can we call a person who loses thing a loser?
Of course, I do not mean that they are not successful or failed but what should I call them?
1
vote
4answers
287 views
Does a claim have to be explicit?
I have heard the claim that a claim must be explicit by definition, but do not see any definition that supports this.
An example of how "implicit claim" is used from this Wikipedia page on ...
-1
votes
1answer
250 views
Naming a function, or synonyms for compare/contrast [closed]
I'm writing a file sync application, and I'm having trouble naming a function that compares two files that exist (or existed) in the same location on two computers. It uses the modification dates and ...
