Miscellaneous Entries.
Seattleite; *Seattlite. The first is the standard spelling; the second is a variant form.
seaworthy. One word — not hyphenated.
second-guess, v.t. Hyphenated thus.
secretariat (= the position or quarters of a secretary) is the standard spelling. *"Secretariate" is a variant.
secretary is pronounced /SEK-ruh-tair-ee/ — not /SEK-uh-tair-ee/.
secrete = (1) to hide; or (2) to exude or ooze through pores or glands; to produce by secretion. Although “secrete away” is technically redundant, it avoids the possible miscue from the conflicting senses {then, in a frenzy, he secreted away all the contraband drugs}. Sense 1 is increasingly confined to literary and legal contexts.
*Invariably inferior forms.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “A misapplied or misapprehended term is sufficient to give rise to fierce and interminable disputes; a misnomer has turned the tide of popular opinion; a verbal sophism has decided a party question; an artful watch-word, thrown among combustible materials, has kindled the flame of deadly warfare, and changed the destiny of an empire.” Peter Mark Roget (as quoted in Charles Poore, “Birthday (Natal Day, Jubilee)” (1954), in Weigh the Word 176, 180 (Charles B. Jennings et al. eds., 1957)).
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