>>>>> Richard Maine writes:
Richard> Paul J. Nikolai writes:
>> From: Phillip Helbig <[log in to unmask]>
>> According to the Oxford Universal Dictionary:
>>
>> Obsolescent ... 1. Becoming obsolete; going out of date.
>> Obsolete ... 1. That is no longer practised or used; discarded; out of
>> date.
>>
>> Mr. Maine is right on target, so to speak.
Richard> Just to correct the attribution. I'm the one who didn't know the
Richard> difference (and didn't look it up). Its probably Phillip Helbig
Richard> that you are refering to as "right on target." And some other
Richard> posters have also come up with the definitions (all of which seem
Richard> to agree, so its just me who was ignorant in this case).
Richard> --
Richard> Richard Maine
Richard> [log in to unmask]
Other "-escent" words:
Crescent: growing
Originally referred to the phase of the just-past-new
moon, later applied to its shape.
Decrescent: shrinking
An obsolete term for the phase of the moon between the
last quarter and the new moon. It really ticks me off
to see it described as a "waning crescent" -- literally
an oxymoron.
Luminescent: emitting light
I'm not sure what the Latin technical term is for this ending ... gerund? I
remember something about imperfect vs. perfect from spanish class. But yes,
any word with -escent refers to a state of being in the middle of doing
something -- the action has not been completed.
--
Ted Stern Porting/Tuning/Analysis, Applications & Libraries
Cray Inc. http://www.tera.com
411 First Avenue South, Suite 600 Direct 206/701-2182, Main 701-2000
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