Questions tagged [terminology]
This tag is for questions seeking or discussing a term (or terms) belonging or peculiar to a science, art, or specialized subject (e.g. linguistics, mathematics, physics, biology, finance, theatre, music, philosophy, astronomy, medical, nautical etc.). Consider adding [single-word-requests] and [phrase-requests] tags also if relevant.
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'Correct' term for... upwards moving menu?
I posted a (technically inclined) question at StackOverflow — and I agree with a particular commentary, and we'd like to get your opinion. Here's my original question:
Dropdown menu.
But ours ...
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-ship vs. -hood
What is the difference between nouns naming states of being or positions ending in -hood and those ending in -ship?
In practice, if one were neologizing such a word how would one decide which suffix ...
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What is the name of words like 'bottle' or 'clove' that provide a singular for a counted item?
Title pretty much askes the question. What is the term for words like 'bottle', 'cup' or 'clove' (as in clove of garlic). Are they counters, countables, determiners...? I swear it's on the tip of ...
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Is the tense called “Present Progressive” or “Present Continuous”?
What is the correct term used to describe this tense in English — Present Progressive or Present Continuous? I see both terms used in grammar books.
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Foreign words reborrowed back into English
Wikipedia mentions several English words that have been reborrowed from Japanese:
Anime comes from animation and has been reborrowed into English to mean Japanese-style animation.
Puroresu comes from ...
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What word best describes a small store that sells only glasses (spectacles)?
What word would or combination of words would best describe a small store, in which only glasses (spectacles) are sold?
Here are some of my guesses, but I think they are all wrong:
Eye ware
Glass ...
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Repeating the consonant in many words in a sentence or phrase
In the movie 'V for Vendetta' you have for example (bold part):
Evey: Who are you?
V. : Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: ...
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What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?
What is the difference between a phrase and a clause? I tried looking this in dictionary but can not identify the difference. It would be great if I could get an example and formula of what makes a ...
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"log in to" or "log into" or "login to"
When writing an instruction about connecting to a computer using ssh, telnet, etc., I'm not sure what spacing to use in this familiar spoken phrase:
"Log in to host.com"
"Log into host.com"
"Login to ...
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Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy programming/technology: "geek" or "nerd"?
Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy and are involved with programming and technology, geek or nerd?
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A Photoshop term for "body double" or "doppelgänger"
I saw a tutorial on TV. The tutorial was like this:
Take your snap sitting on chair, another standing on left side of chair and then last one standing on the right side of the chair. Now, use ...
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Is there a proper way to refer to the "source" and "destination" of a phrase used in communication?
The terms topic or subject can be used to describe what a sentence refers to. What are the proper terms for the "source" (the person who is speaking or writing) and "destination" (the person who is ...
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What are words called that share the same root?
What do you call words that share the same root (e.g., "network", "networks", "networking"). Also, does the shortest one of them have a specific name (e.g., "network")?
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Can I get an example of statement that can be said to be Hofstadterian?
Can I get an example of statement that can be said to be Hofstadterian?
Also please provide a small comment with the statement if possible. thankyou.
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Term for words indicating capability other than "adjective"
The words edible and manageable are adjectives, but is there a more specific term for such words indicating capability?
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Can or should "ask" ever be used as a noun?
"The ask is that you provide me with..."
I started hearing "ask" being used as a noun a few years ago. Is this a recent trend? Is it an East Coast thing, unique to North America, or just unique to ...
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Where did the "three fingered salute" come from?
Where did the phrase "three-fingered salute", meaning to press CTRL-ALT-DELETE on the keyboard, come from?
As the "two-fingered salute" appears to be a mainly British gesture, I suspect the three-...
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What are sentences like "the longer X, the more Y" called and can they be used in formal written English?
What is the type of sentence exemplified below called? Is it appropriate to use it in a scientific paper and formal written English in general?
1. The more pronounced the variation, the
more the ...
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"Position" as verb to use in graphical user interface discussions?
What's the correct term to use for "positioning" elements in a graphic user interface?
For example, if I say:
Where should we position the button A?
Is that a correct (and professional) way to ...
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Difference between an acronym and abbreviation?
TLA is an acronym for "Three Letter Acronym". Is it also an abbreviation, since it abbreviates the original phrase?
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How to refer to "mainland Europe"
As a Europhile living in England, it really bothers me when journalists refer to mainland Europe as "Europe". We're in Europe! But I appreciate that it offers a neat shorthand for referring to the ...
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What are: province, territory, protectorate, state...?
Often a country will have regions called "provinces" or "states". Other times they are called "territories" and "protectorates".
Is there a generic term for these words?
Is there a full list of ...
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What is the word to describe a single object to represent the many?
If I am writing a poem, I might use the word peaches to symbolize all fruit. Is there a specific word for this type of symbolism?
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Do "normal people" know the terms URL and GUI?
Would an English-speaking but non-technical audience be familiar with the terms URL (in the sense of link, web address) and GUI (Graphical User Interface), for example in a manual aimed at end users?
...
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Alternatives to "computationally expensive"?
The current version of a sentence I'm writing has the structure:
Computing [such and such] is the most computationally expensive part of [algorithm].
At the moment, I cannot think of a better ...
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How does one pronounce the '@' symbol?
How can I pronounce @ symbol: At / At the rate?
Can I use it in a sentence? Please explain with an example.
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A special use of "should"?
I saw a sentence like this:
Wilkinson is contesting the release, and threatened to sue should it be released.
I could understand it but do you know what do they call this kind of use of "should" ...
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What is the best term to describe a "native English speaker who is an American"?
When applying for English teaching jobs, I want to describe myself as a "native speaker of English who has an American accent" since most companies in Europe want native speakers to teach English ...
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What does "I know, right?" mean?
Not only is my seventh grader using this phrase, but her teachers are as well.
I suppose it means I totally agree with you and you totally agree with me but it sounds like there is a subtle Is that ...
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What does "graduate applicant" mean?
Does the term "graduate applicant" mean "a person who applies to get graduated" or "a graduate who applies for something"? If it is the second one, what can we call a person who applies for a ...
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Difference between "commentor" and "commentator"
What is the difference between commentor and commentator? Is commentor or commenter a legitimate English word?
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What is the origin of the phrase "Eastern Seaboard"?
Today upon hearing reports about how Hurricane Earl was going to hug the Eastern Seaboard I couldn't help but think how strange this phrase is. Is "seaboard" used in any other contexts? What is the ...
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Logging in or on?
There are a plethora of words for user accounts, like logon, login, signon, and also the action of logging in (or logging on) or signing in.
Are there any usage guidelines here?
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Rhyming conventions of Early Modern English
I was reading the poem "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell when something struck me as odd. Let me quote two passages:
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
Of ...
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English term for a word that differs from another one by just one letter
When I was a child, pretty much every children's magazine I subscribed to used to publish those little word-chain games where you had to get from one word to another — often an antonym — by replacing ...
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What does “akin to” mean in etymologies in dictionary entries?
Many etymologies in dictionaries say that some word is “akin to” a word in some other language. For example, here is part of the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary entry for salt:
Main Entry: 1salt
...
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Is there a fine line between symbolism and metaphors in literature?
Assume we have a literary masterpiece that is abundant in symbolism and metaphors. Within this masterpiece, the author uses a brook running through a glade of trees to represent a couple of things ...
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Which is correct: "web host" or "web hoster"?
Which is the best way to refer to a company that hosts your website:
My web host supports Ruby.
or
My web hoster supports Ruby.
or
My web hosting service supports Ruby.
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Is it correct to call an Apple Mac computer a PC (Personal Computer)
From the original meaning of the initialism, PC (Personal Computer), it would make perfect sense to call a Mac a PC, as it is just that, a personal computer.
However, the vast majority of people ...
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Is there a word for the single letter contractions commonly used in store names?
Is there a term for the single-letter contractions as used in the following examples?
Toys 'r' us
Stop 'n' go
(Note: Trademarks above have been corrected for proper grammar.)
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Is domain-specific meaning acceptable/advisable when used in a document directed outside the domain?
Here's the problem. Many common terms in the programmer's lexicon--i.e., used in information communication and in published texts--are identical to everyday words; others are slight 'distortions' of ...
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Term for catchy tune that stays in your head
Is there a term for a catchy tune that stays in your head after you hear it? The Germans call it an earworm.
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What do you call the word used in prose to describe the surroundings to make prose richer?
There is a word in English which is used to describe the technique used by authors where they describe the surroundings (like sight, sounds, smells, etc.) to make the scene more rich.
Like "there was ...
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What is a word called that has more than one syllable?
You can say e.g.:
The word "on" is a monosyllable.
but it seems that the word "multisyllable" has been outdated since 1913.
What is the correct term for a word that has two or more syllables, e.g....
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Why did the word "Internet" change from a noncount to count noun?
I remember a time back in 1993 - 1994 for a couple months at our university the Internet was used as a noncount noun, so we would say:
Do you have Internet at your university?
In fact, the ...
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How can I reliably and accurately identify the passive voice in writing or speech?
How can I reliably and accurately identify the passive voice in writing or speech? I'm not interested in advice about whether or not to use it yet... I just want to know for sure what it is, so that I ...
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What is the most professional name for "squiggly bracket"?
I am creating a software training video and need to refer to these brackets:
{ }
I usually call them "squiggly brackets" or "curly brackets".
Is there a more professional name?
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How does the phrase "used to" work, grammatically?
It is common to hear people say "used to" to indicate that they did something in the past but no longer do; for example, "I used to play basketball." How would "used to," used in that context, fit ...
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