Praeter- or Preter-natural - you decide!

Question

I wished to check the exact meaning of "praeternatural" and duly went to http://www.yourdictionary.com/ which could find no mention. It could, however, supply meanings for "preternatural". Was I having a blonde moment, or is http://www.yourdictionary.com/ deficient?

Edward

The reading group's reading group:
http://www.bookgroup.org.uk

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I wished to check the exact meaning of "praeternatural" and duly went to http://www.yourdictionary.com/ which could find no mention. It could, however, supply meanings for "preternatural". Was I having a blonde moment, or is http://www.yourdictionary.com/ deficient?[/nq]
OED has 'preternatural' as the standard spelling, 'praeternatural' as a variant.
Cites use both versions but 'preter-' has the edge. As prefix (praefix?), they use both 'preter-' and 'praeter-'

The exact meaning, insofar as OED can be said to yield one, BTW, is 'That is out of the ordinary course of nature; beyond, surpassing, or differing from what is natural; non-natural; formerly = abnormal, exceptional, unusual; sometimes = unnatural;' Also used as 'supernatural'
John Dean
Oxford.

Usenet · Answer

John Dean filted:
[nq:1]OED has 'preternatural' as the standard spelling, 'praeternatural' as a variant.[/nq]
Since my online subscription has been cruelly wrested from me, maybe you'd be willing to tell me what, if anything, OED has to offer on the use of the ligature: "præternatural"....r

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]John Dean filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]OED has 'preternatural' as the standard spelling, 'praeternatural' as a variant.[/nq]
[nq:1]Since my online subscription has been cruelly wrested from me, maybe you'dbe willing to tell me what, if anything, OED has to offer on the use of the ligature: "præternatural"....r[/nq]
I don't have access to the on-line OED myself, but here's what the NSOED says about it:
A ligature.
1 OE ash' (see ASH n.1 3), the symbol of a simple vowel intermediatebetween a and e. In early ME short æ was replaced by a (sometimes e), long æ by e or ee.
2 From 16 used in forms derived from L æ and Gk ai. When thoroughlyAnglicized and popularized this becomes e; æ, now usu. (and in this dictionary) written as a digraph ae, is retained only in some Gk and L proper names, terms of Gk and Rom. Antiquities, and some scientific and techn. terms (where, however, e is usual in the US).

Regards,
Arfur

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I wished to check the exact meaning of "praeternatural" and duly went to http://www.yourdictionary.com/ which could find no mention. It could, however, supply meanings for "preternatural". Was I having a blonde moment, or is http://www.yourdictionary.com/ deficient?[/nq]
The *preter-* form is the regular English version: OED1 is sniffy about *praeter-* and refers all enquiries to *preter-*.

Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I wished to check the exact meaning of "praeternatural" and duly went to http://www.yourdictionary.com/ which could find no mention. It could, however, supply meanings for "preternatural". Was I having a blonde moment, or is http://www.yourdictionary.com/ deficient?[/nq]
Well, it's deficient, but so are a number of desk dictionaries (COD10, AHD4, MWCD11), and you will find many dictionaries, e.g., Chambers, have an entry s.v. "preater-" that points you elsewnere, "see preter-."

That's the price you pay for using Latin instead of English. Here is the SOED5 entry:
preternatural, adjective.
/pri;t@"natS

r

l/
Also praeternatural. L16.
(medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin phr. praeter naturam: see PRETER-.)
1. Outside the ordinary course of nature; differing from or surpassingwhat is natural; non-natural. Formerly also, exceptional, unusual; unnatural. L16.
A. N. Wilson The clue to what makes him special resides in this preternatural ability to be aware.
2. Supernatural. L18.

? preternaturally adverb in a preternatural manner; extraordinarily, unusually: E17.
? preternaturalness noun E18.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]John Dean filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]OED has 'preternatural' as the standard spelling, 'praeternatural' as a variant.[/nq]
[nq:1]Since my online subscription has been cruelly wrested from me, maybe you'd be willing to tell me what, if anything, OED has to offer on the use of the ligature: "præternatural"....r[/nq]
OED uses the ligature wherever it mentions 'praeternatural'. I just couldn't be arsed to look up the ASCII.

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Answer

John Dean filted:
[nq:2]Since my online subscription has been cruelly wrested from me, ... has to offer on the use of the ligature: "præternatural"....r[/nq]
[nq:1]OED uses the ligature wherever it mentions 'praeternatural'. I just couldn't be arsed to look up the ASCII.[/nq]
With the international keyboard layout enabled, it's on the zed....r

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I wished to check the exact meaning of "praeternatural" and ... Was I having a blonde moment, or is http://www.yourdictionary.com/ deficient?[/nq]
[nq:1]OED has 'preternatural' as the standard spelling, 'praeternatural' as a variant. Cites use both versions but 'preter-' has the edge. ... surpassing, or differing from what is natural; non-natural; formerly = abnormal, exceptional, unusual; sometimes = unnatural;' Also used as 'supernatural'[/nq]
Avoid the spelling difficulty by saying "freaky".
It also has the advantage, mentioned by Fowler, or being the shorter word.

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]John Dean filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]OED uses the ligature wherever it mentions 'praeternatural'. I just couldn't be arsed to look up the ASCII.[/nq]
[nq:1]With the international keyboard layout enabled, it's on the zed..r[/nq]
I have no idea what you just said. I understood every single word, but I have no idea what it means.

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Answer

John Dean filted:
[nq:2]John Dean filted: With the international keyboard layout enabled, it's on the zed....r[/nq]
[nq:1]I have no idea what you just said. I understood every single word, but I have no idea what it means.[/nq]
Longer description:
While one can produce the æ ligature by typing Alt+0230, the same character is available by holding down the AltGr key (in Europe) or the right-hand Ctrl and Alt keys together (in the US) and pressing Z...those in the US envious of the single-key AltGr functionality can set their Windows keyboard to "US English-international"...this (1) turns the right-hand Alt key into an AltGr, and (2) turns certain punctuation characters into "dead-key" accents...I find I need the accents and some of the other AltGr characters (e.g., £, ½, ²) just often enough that it's to my advantage to use this keyboard layout....r

Praeter- or Preter-natural - you decide!

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