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Usenet Posted 18 years ago
Usage
Unredeemably irredeemable
Google gets
about 165,000 for irredeemably,
about 289,000 for irredeemable,
and
about 7,500 for unredeemably,
about 74,700 for unredeemable
However according to my little dictionary,
"irredeemed"
isn't a word,
whereas
"unredeemed"
is.
And google concurs, getting only
about 204 for irredeemed
but
about 390,000 for unredeemed
Conclusion?
ir- is prefered when the word is long ?
un- - when it's short ?
There is a clear semantic difference between
irredeemable (can't be).
vs
unredeemed (hasn't been)
And I feel that something of that ought to cary over into "irredeemably" vs "unredeemably"
but there is a tense thing going in here which is tensing up my brain - I just can't get my head around the semantics.
I guess my question is, what's going on here?
~~
about 165,000 for irredeemably,
about 289,000 for irredeemable,
and
about 7,500 for unredeemably,
about 74,700 for unredeemable
However according to my little dictionary,
"irredeemed"
isn't a word,
whereas
"unredeemed"
is.
And google concurs, getting only
about 204 for irredeemed
but
about 390,000 for unredeemed
Conclusion?
ir- is prefered when the word is long ?
un- - when it's short ?
There is a clear semantic difference between
irredeemable (can't be).
vs
unredeemed (hasn't been)
And I feel that something of that ought to cary over into "irredeemably" vs "unredeemably"
but there is a tense thing going in here which is tensing up my brain - I just can't get my head around the semantics.
I guess my question is, what's going on here?
~~
Top answer
[nq:1]Google gets about 165,000 for irredeemably, about 289,000 for irredeemable, and about 7,500 for unredeemably, about 74,700 for unredeemable However ... about 390,000 for unredeemed Conclusion? ir- is prefered when the word is long ?
- [nq:1]Google gets about 165,000 for irredeemably, about 289,000 for irredeemable, and about 7,500 for unredeemably, about 74,700 for unredeemable However ...
- about 390,000 for unredeemed Conclusion?
- ir- is prefered when the word is long ?
- [/nq] Definitely.
- Compare with the words unbe, unwas, unwere, unrun, etc.
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]Google gets about 165,000 for irredeemably, about 289,000 for irredeemable, and about 7,500 for unredeemably, about 74,700 for unredeemable However ... about 390,000 for unredeemed Conclusion? ir- is prefered when the word is long ? un- - when it's short ?[/nq]
Definitely. Compare with the words unbe, unwas, unwere, unrun, etc.
As opposed to irregulate, irprocrastinate, and irin
Definitely. Compare with the words unbe, unwas, unwere, unrun, etc.
As opposed to irregulate, irprocrastinate, and irin
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I fought against the bottle,
But I had to do it drunk -
Took my diamond to the pawnshop -
But that don't make it junk.
- Leonard Cohen
Thank you, mm!
That does make perfect sense.
(It even feels right.
But I had to do it drunk -
Took my diamond to the pawnshop -
But that don't make it junk.
- Leonard Cohen
Thank you, mm!
That does make perfect sense.
(It even feels right.
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