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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010Prevalent
On NPR, All Things Considered, I think. France expects to pass a law to make one spouse insulting the other, too much, illegal... Consistent verbal abuse is prevalent in French marriages. How prevalent is it? Very. It's in one out of four marriages. Another word whose meaning has been forgotten.  SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years > On NPR, All Things Considered, I think. > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Another word whose meaning has been forgotten. AHD: Widely or commonly occurring, existing, accepted, or practiced. See synonyms at 'prevailing'. "Prevailing" is given with two senses: 1) Most frequent or common 2) Generally current; widespread I believe the AHD lists senses in chronological order of development, so even "prevailing" would now seem to mean, as prevalent does, simply "widespread". (Their further notes at "prevailing" say: "'Prevalent' suggests widespread existence or occurrence but does not imply predominance.") So it is not a word whose meaning has been forgotten, but a word whose meaning has shifted, rather as dilapidation long since ceased to be related only to stone buildings. More annoying, if the original quotation is verbatim, is its failure to use the genitive ("spouse's") with the gerund ("insulting"). SignatureCordially, Eric Walker, Owlcroft House http://owlcroft.com/english/ >> On NPR, All Things Considered, I think. >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >AHD: Widely or commonly occurring, existing, accepted, or practiced. See >synonyms at 'prevailing'. I did look it up. I don't believe that definition. :-) I was curious if others would. >"Prevailing" is given with two senses: >1) Most frequent or common >2) Generally current; widespread I don't believe number 2 either. :-) >I believe the AHD lists senses in chronological order of development, so >even "prevailing" would now seem to mean, as prevalent does, simply [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >More annoying, if the original quotation is verbatim, is its failure to No, the original "quotation" isn't verbatim. That's why I didn't put it in quotes. >use the genitive ("spouse's") with the gerund ("insulting"). Yeah, an argument could surely be made I should have used spouse's. There is something about this situation that made me want to write it without the apostrolphe. Maybe that make me a PKB. SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years > >> On NPR, All Things Considered, I think. > >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > I did look it up. I don't believe that definition. :-) I was > curious if others would. I didn't know that English usage was a matter of faith. (Or does that explain the smiley?) I find it hard to believe (whoops -- I guess it is a matter of faith) that anyone would reject the quoted AH definition. Looking it up really does help. > >"Prevailing" is given with two senses: > >1) Most frequent or common > >2) Generally current; widespread > > I don't believe number 2 either. :-) Goodness, what do you believe? The Flying Spaghetti Monster, perhaps? > >I believe the AHD lists senses in chronological order of development, so > >even "prevailing" would now seem to mean, as prevalent does, simply [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Yeah, an argument could surely be made I should have used spouse's. Yeah, right. > There is something about this situation that made me want to write it > without the apostrolphe. You've been around British posters for so long you're starting to sound like them, innit? > Maybe that make me a PKB. Maybe that do. SignatureBob Lieblich Whose view of "prevalent" is prevalent |
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