New York, New York
Jul. 5th, 2010 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ventaSo, today I was reminded that I don't know what the word "synedoche" means (yes, since you ask, I was reading XKCD). I've looked up synedoche many times, yet can never remember what the wretched thing means.
So, over I go Wikipedia. A dictionary would probably have been better, but my fingers automatically go to Wikipedia for virtually any answer these days.
In the little search box, I type "synedoche".
Back come the results... "Did you mean: synecdoche".
Did I mean synecdoche? No, of course I didn't, that's not a word.
Except a little further searching suggests it really is a word. And, what's more, it's the one I was looking for. I am 100% confident that the first 'c' has never been there before. I've certainly never known it was there, and - as we've already established - I've looked this word up a lot of times.
I can only assume that some foul-tempered script kiddie has carefully replaced all instances of the word on the internet with this new misspelled version. If I get home and find that my trusty hard-backed Oxford dictionary has the rogue extra 'c' in the word too, I shall know that goblins have been employed.
So, over I go Wikipedia. A dictionary would probably have been better, but my fingers automatically go to Wikipedia for virtually any answer these days.
In the little search box, I type "synedoche".
Back come the results... "Did you mean: synecdoche".
Did I mean synecdoche? No, of course I didn't, that's not a word.
Except a little further searching suggests it really is a word. And, what's more, it's the one I was looking for. I am 100% confident that the first 'c' has never been there before. I've certainly never known it was there, and - as we've already established - I've looked this word up a lot of times.
I can only assume that some foul-tempered script kiddie has carefully replaced all instances of the word on the internet with this new misspelled version. If I get home and find that my trusty hard-backed Oxford dictionary has the rogue extra 'c' in the word too, I shall know that goblins have been employed.
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 05:46 pm (UTC)* Greek
** German
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Date: 2010-07-05 05:49 pm (UTC)When I was at junior school I did not know the Greek for wood or the German for bells, so never questioned it when we were taught that xylophones were the metal ones and glockenspiels were the wooden ones. I can see how the goblins had sound etymological reasons for the switch over, but it's still nevertheless confusing.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 06:03 pm (UTC)For bonus points guess what a Lithophone is made of.
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Date: 2010-07-05 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-06 01:02 pm (UTC)