I notice great variability in how this concept is expressed. Does the term vary depending on the context? Should one use one variation when discussing biology, for example, and another when talking about product phases? Wikipedia uses different forms in way that seems random. So, too, does the New York Times, based on basic search. An earlier discussion of the variations in connection with technology notes that "A compound generally starts open (life cycle), migrates to hyphenated (life-cycle), and ends up closed (lifecycle)." Are we at the closed stage for the term in a general sense?
asked May 18, 2012 at 21:24
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possible duplicate of When is it necessary to use a hyphen in writing a compound word?– James Waldby - jwpat7May 18, 2012 at 21:41
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I don't believe this duplicates the cited question, as it centers on use of hyphens with prefixes. One of the answers, however does hit the nail on the head: english.stackexchange.com/a/893/20519. It provides sources that say there is no firm rule here--open/closed is driven by convention. As the diagram below shows, "life cycle" seems to be the most popular usage.– Bill LefurgyMay 21, 2012 at 17:45
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1In software development circles it seems we're already at the closed form, making existing spell-checkers frustrating to use: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_lifecycle_management– Colm BhandalApr 12, 2020 at 13:11
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1The Wikipedia entry for Application_lifecycle_management links to the Software_Development_Life_Cycle so while I prefer the form "lifecycle" and believe use is trending that way generally (and especially in our industry of early-adopters) it is still often about context and audience.– CodeShaneOct 10, 2020 at 22:22
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3 Answers
My medical dictionaries (Dorland's Illustrated, 30th Ed.; Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary) either list it as two words (Dorland's) or not at all (Saunders). So I would say in medical literature fields, where the context would be something like the life cycle of a parasite, it's still two words.
And I'm not sure that lifecycle and life-cycle are nearly as common as life cycle. Here's the NGram for life cycle vs. lifecycle vs. life-cycle.
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3The ngrams for life cycle,lifecycle,life-cycle,life - cycle is more informative, showing that life-cycle is used much more than lifecycle. May 21, 2012 at 18:10
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@jwpat7, what would adding the space around the hyphen indicate? I'm not understanding the point. What results would that "catch"?– JLGMay 21, 2012 at 19:17
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My understanding is that in ngrams search string life-cycle does not match anything, while search string life - cycle matches the string life-cycle. May 22, 2012 at 0:23
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1@tchrist, I don't think that's right. When you search for just life "-" cycle, and you look at what's found, it's not hyphenated life-cycle. It's the separate words life and cycle that are found. Look at the works it find its in below the graph.– JLGDec 14, 2012 at 5:43
Four online dictionaries I consulted (Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionaries, Macmillan, and Dictionary.com) all agree on the open form life cycle.
In particular, the Dictionary.com definition in the link uses the open form for all the senses life cycle.
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1Language rules change depending on real usage. In Google Search you get 60M of usages for "lifecycle", 102M for "life-cycle" and 113M for "life cycle".– ZonAug 12, 2021 at 8:21
My feeling is that if referring to a single concept, it should be a single or closed word, i.e. lifecycle.
On the other hand, when referring to separate concepts, the open usage would be more appropriate. For example, the various stages of an insect's life would be referred to as a life cycle.
It eventually comes down to context and that is the responsiblity of the individual writer/author/editor, etc.
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2Can you give an example of the term used referring to a single concept? Mar 24, 2015 at 14:59
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2@joedragons: I guess its use in product lifecylce management might be an example. (I am not a native speaker). Nov 5, 2021 at 8:54