Versus

“Proportional” vs. “Proportionate”

Adjectives, Versus

I heard one of these adjectives this morning and wondered why the speaker did not use the other.

Question:
Do these two adjectives mean the same thing?

Explanation:
I was watching “Landscapers’ Challenge” on the HGTV channel and heard a designer say something to the effect of “You need a pot that is proportionate to the size of the plant.”

The adjective “proportionate” in her statement struck me as odd because I would have used the adjective “proportional” instead.

Both adjectives date back to late 1300s.

If you look up the definition of “proportionate”, then you will see that one of its definitions is proportional.

In contrast, if you look up the definition of “proportional” in many dictionaries, then you will not see that one of its definitions is proportionate, although “proportionate” is listed as a synonym of “proportional”.

One of the primary definitions of both adjectives is being in proportion.

So these two adjectives essentially mean the same thing.

For fun, and because I was curious about which adjective was more popular on the Web, I searched Google for each of these adjectives and got about the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “proportional” — 32,100,000 matches
  • “proportionate” — 4,110,000 matches

This tells me that Web authors have favored “proportional” over “proportionate” by a ratio of 7.81-to-1, which is consistent with my initial reaction to hearing “proportionate” in the HGTV program.

Answer:
The two adjectives mean essentially the same thing, but “proportional” seems to be much more popular than “proportionate”.

“Helpful” vs. “Helpless”

Adjectives, Outsider's Perspective, Versus

I heard one of these adjectives the other day and immediately thought of the other one.

Problem:
These two adjectives appear to be antonyms but are not antonyms in today’s usage.

Explanation:
The core definition of the adjective “helpful” is rendering or giving assistance or aid.

An example of the correct use of this adjective is “The helpful teller made all bank patrons feel good about the bank’s services.”

In other words, someone who is helpful is someone who is of service.

There are four basic definitions of the adjective “helpless”:

  1. dependent or weak, as in “He is helpless without his wife.”;
  2. incompetent or powerless, as in “The employee is helpless without her supervisor.”;
  3. involuntary or impossible to control, as in “They suffered from helpless crying upon seeing the effects of the tornado.”;
  4. unable to provide help, as in “The helpless waiters discouraged diners from returning to the restaurant.”

The fourth definition of “helpless” is obsolete, so “helpless” in today’s language is not an antonym of “helpful”.

Solution:
Remember that “helpless” can mean the opposite of “helpful” in older books but is not the antonym of “helpful” today.

“Battery” vs. “Cell”

Common English Blunders, Nouns, Versus

I thought of these two nouns recently when I had to refill a flashlight.

Problem:
One of these in everyday speech is often misidentified as the other in discussions related to electricity.

Explanation:
In electrical terms,

  • a “battery” is an electrically connected combination of two or more “cells”;
  • a “cell” is something that converts chemical energy into electrical energy, usually via an electrolyte and two substances with different conductivities.

A “cell” typically has an electromotive force of about 1.5 volts.

In contrast, a “battery” has an electromotive force that equals 1.5 volts times the number of cells in the battery.

For example, the PP3 battery, which is commonly called a “9-volt battery” and truly is a “battery”, has an electromotive force of 9 volts because it comprises six “cells” within its case.

As another example, if you put four “D” cells in a flashlight, you have a six-volt battery in the flashlight.

In other words, although many dictionaries indicate that one of the definitions of “battery” is “cell”,

  • this refers to everyday speech,
  • this is not the primary definition, and
  • this is technically incorrect.

Solution:
When it comes to electricity, use “cell” for the “AA”, “AAA”, “C”, and “D” units that can be bought in stores, and use “battery” to refer to a connected set of these units or to refer to the 9-volt, “PP3” unit popularly used in smoke detectors, alarm clocks, etc.