Verbs

“I want to preface this up front by saying …”

Nouns, Redundancies, Verbs

I heard this yesterday during a conference call.

Problem:
The phrase “up front” introduces a redundancy.

Explanation:
The speaker on the conference call was telling the other call attendees that he wanted to say something before he said something else.

The noun “preface” means a preliminary statement in a book or speech.

So the verb “preface” means to provide a preliminary statement.

And therefore following the verb “preface” with the phrase “up front” introduces a redundancy.

Solution:
“I want to preface this by saying …”

“Hoard” vs. “Horde”

Nouns, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes see these words used interchangeably.

Problem:
The words “hoard” and “horde” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The word “hoard” — spelled H-O-A-R-D — dates back to before 900 to the Gothic word “huzd”, which literally meant treasure.

When it acts as a noun, the word “hoard” means an accumulation that is carefully guarded for future use.

When it acts as a verb with an object, the word “hoard” means to accumulate for future use in a hidden place.

When it acts as a verb without an object, the word “hoard” means to accumulate food, money, or anything else valuable in a hidden place for future use.

The word “horde” — spelled H-O-R-D-E — dates back to about 1550 but apparently originated before then with the Turkic word “ordu”, which literally means royal camp or residence.

The primary meaning of the word “horde” as a noun is a mass or crowd, and an alternate meaning is a nomadic group.

The word “horde” can also be used as a verb without an object, in which case it means to gather or assemble in a horde.

Solution:
Remember that the word “horde” — spelled H-O-R-D-E — seems to come from the Turkic word “ordu”, which means royal camp or residence, to remember that this word relates to a crowd or mass or group of people and to distinguish it from the word “hoard” — spelled H-O-A-R-D — which comes from a Gothic word for treasure.

“Defuse” vs. “Diffuse”

Mispronunciations, Misspellings, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes see or hear these verbs used interchangeably.

Problem:
The verbs “defuse” and “diffuse” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The verb “defuse” — spelled D-E-F-U-S-E — was coined in the early 1940s and means to remove the fuse from, where the “de” prefix in this verb indicates negation and the “fuse” suffix refers to a cord of readily combustible material and comes from the Italian word “fuso”, which literally means spindle.

Unless you are a terrorist or sadist, you want the police to defuse a bomb.

The verb “diffuse” — spelled D-I-F-F-U-S-E — dates back to the late 1300s and means to spread or disseminate, where the “dif” prefix means apart or away and the “fuse” suffix comes from a form of the Latin word “fundere”, which literally means to melt.

Once the police have defused a bomb, they often will diffuse a message to the public about their success.

I believe that the oral/auditory confusion comes from mispronunciations of these two verbs.

I believe that the written confusion comes from ignorance about the roots of these two verbs and from misspellings originating from that ignorance or the mispronunciations.

Solution:
Remember that the “de” in “defuse” indicates negation, and remember that the “dif” in “diffuse” means apart or away.