In the Dog House

Question

Occasionally, I get confused about whether or not to combine two words into one word. No wonder. The language changes. It used to be "web site," but now it's "website." It's easy to see how that change occurred, but sometimes there's no rhyme or reason that I can discern.

Google searches can often dispel the confusion. Clearly, "thunderstorm" (which received 589,000 hits on Google) is preferable to "thunder storm" (which received 41,900 hits). That's a ratio of 14.1 to one.
However, it's not always that simple. We might not always want to accept Google results as being correct. Also, those results can be close. "Doghouse" gets 154,000 hits, while "dog house" gets 129,000. That's very close (a ratio of 1.2 to one).
So which is it? "Dog house" looks more natural to me when spelled with two words. Just because I can find "doghouse" in the dictionary doesn't mean it's preferable. However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary dates "doghouse" to 1594.
Are there some general rules when deciding to use one or two words? For example, does this make sense "Dog" and "house" are both Old English (Germanic) words. There's a tendency in the Germanic languages to form compound words. That explains why "doghouse" is a single word. Or is it?

Mike Bandy

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1](snip) Are there some general rules when deciding to use one or two words? For example, does this make sense ... tendency in the Germanic languages to form compound words. That explains why "doghouse" is a single word. Or is it?[/nq]
Nine, herr Mike.
Single words are a result of sustained convenience pressure. Web and site, for example, are so frequently used together, it's just a big convenience to put the two words together on the page. Because that's the way we think of them - together, anyway.
If two words are being thought of together, spoken of together, and written about, together, they will eventually become a single word in popular and proper usage. Our writing will follow our thoughts and speech, regardless of the origin of the words.
YMMV
Darrz

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2](snip) Are there some general rules when deciding to use ... explains why "doghouse" is a single word. Or is it?[/nq]
[nq:1]Nine, herr Mike.[/nq]
I'm impressed with your self confidence, if not your German, darrz. But there are fourteen dictionaries available on the Web that disagree with you; see
[nq:1]http://www.onelook.com/?w=doghouse&ls=a[/nq]
. Given a choice of whom to follow, I'll take the fourteen (or more) lexicographers over you.
[nq:1]Single words are a result of sustained convenience pressure. Web and site, for example, are so frequently used together, it's just a big convenience to put the two words together on the page. Because that's the way we think of them - together, anyway.[/nq]
And that's how I along with those 14+ lexicographers think of doghouse. No one's twisting your arm to agree, but you should be wary of announcing your personal preferences as if they were gospel.
[nq:1]If two words are being thought of together, spoken of together, and written about, together, they will eventually become a single word in popular and proper usage. Our writing will follow our thoughts and speech, regardless of the origin of the words.[/nq]
As has happened to doghouse.
[nq:1]YMMV[/nq]
It sure does.

Bob Lieblich
Arf

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Occasionally, I get confused about whether or not to combine two words into one word. No wonder. The language changes. ... tendency in the Germanic languages to form compound words. That explains why "doghouse" is a single word. Or is it?[/nq]
COD 10:
doghouse
· n.

1 N. Amer. a dog?s kennel. <<

=
2 Sailing a raised standing area at the after end of a yacht?s coachroof.? PHRASES 'in the doghouse' informal in disgrace or disfavour.

It sometimes feels like I've been in the doghouse since 1594, but that's another tail, as they say.

wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2](snip) Are there some general rules when deciding to use ... explains why "doghouse" is a single word. Or is it?[/nq]
[nq:1]Nine, herr Mike. Single words are a result of sustained convenience pressure. Web and site, for example, are so frequently ... in popular and proper usage. Our writing will follow our thoughts and speech, regardless of the origin of the words.[/nq]
Nicely put, Darrz.
for a moment let's consider the words "web" and "log." There are two distinct forms and definitions of these two when used together: "web log" refers to a an internal tally of assorted parameters associated with a site or a page. "weblog" is an online journal that is easily updated by the author with resorting to using normal web-authoring tools like Dreamweaver or BBEdit. This word is commonly shortened to "blog."
-YJ

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]for a moment let's consider the words "web" and "log." There are two distinct forms and definitions of these two ... the author with resorting to using normal web-authoring tools like Dreamweaver or BBEdit. This word is commonly shortened to "blog."[/nq]
More or less true, but not analogous to "dog house/doghouse", in that "weblog" has a new sense not readily derived from the combination "web log", which indeed, as you say, means something a bit else, whereas "dog house" and "doghouse" have the same meaning.
(I said "more or less true" because the "web log" that became "weblog" then "blog" was ill-named to begin with, being no such thing as a "web log" at all, but rather a web diary.)

Cordially,
Eric Walker
My opinions on English are available at
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]for a moment let's consider the words "web" and "log." ... Dreamweaver or BBEdit. This word is commonly shortened to "blog."[/nq]
[nq:1]More or less true, but not analogous to "dog house/doghouse", in that "weblog" has a new sense not readily derived ... was ill-named to begin with, being no such thing as a "web log" at all, but rather a web diary.)[/nq]
Thanks Eric. I should have noted that I was contrasting the "web + Log" pair not as a parallel to the "dog house" pair, but as an example of a pair of words that do mean separate things apart or combined.

Now I'm giving myself a headache just thinking about it.

-YJ

Usenet · Answer

In at least one of the other germanic languages there is normally, or at least often, a difference in meaning between the separate and the combined form. This is Norwegian.
Examples:
feil - error
melding - message
feilmelding - error message
feil melding - (the) wrong message
bruker - user (noun), uses (verb)
veiledning - help, guidance
brukerveiledning - users guide
bruker veiledning - (someone) uses a guide or guidance

You can hear a slight difference in pronunciation, but for some reason the young generation are taking to writing words that should be combined as separate. They might be influenced by english.

In the Dog House

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