The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #172874 Message #4197195
Posted By: Lighter
14-Feb-24 - 04:31 PM
Thread Name: BS: Language Pet Peeves part II
Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves part II
What bugs me is the blithe and confident misuse of technical terms.
Like "virus" for a bacterial infection.
Or "euphemism" for "simple synonym."
Or "misnomer" for "misconception."
Or "back-formation" for "derivative."
Oxford has "worthiness" from 1372. It's been thought acceptable by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Hobbes, Wordsworth, and many others.