Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill [244]
One of the best ways to pay attention to words as words is to practice making subtle distinctions among related words. The “right” word contributes accuracy and precision to your meaning. The “wrong” word, it follows, is inaccurate or imprecise. The most reliable guide to choosing the right word and avoiding the wrong word is a dictionary that includes not only concise definitions but also the origin of words (known as their etymology). A dicey alternative is a thesaurus (a dictionary of synonyms, now included in most word processing software). A thesaurus can offer you a host of choices, but you run a fairly high risk of choosing an inappropriate word because the thesaurus lists words as synonyms that really have different shades of meaning and connotation.
Many of the most common diction errors happen because the writer has not learned the difference between similar terms that actually have different meanings. A common error of this kind is use of the word “notorious” when what the writer means to say is “famous.” A notorious figure is widely but unfavorably known, whereas a famous person is usually recognized for accomplishments that are praiseworthy. Referring to a famous person as notorious—a rather comic error—could be an embarrassing mistake.
A slightly less severe version of getting the wrong word occurs when a writer uses a word with a shade of meaning that is inappropriate or inaccurate in a particular context. Take, for example, the words assertive and aggressive. Often used interchangeably, they don’t really mean the same thing—and the difference matters. Loosely defined, both terms mean forceful. But assertive suggests being bold and self-confident, whereas aggressive suggests being eager to attack. In most cases, you compliment the person you call assertive but raise doubts about the person you call aggressive (whether you are giving a compliment depends on the situation: aggressive is a term of praise on the football field but less so if used to describe an acquaintance’s behavior during conversation at the dinner table).
One particularly charged context in which shades of meaning matter involves the potentially sexist implications of using one term for women and another for men. If, for example, in describing a woman and a man up for the same job, the employer were to refer to the woman as aggressive but the man as assertive, his diction would deservedly be considered sexist. It would reveal that what is perceived as poised and a sign of leadership potential in a man is construed as unseemly belligerence in a woman. The sexism enters when word choice suggests that what is assertive in a man is aggressive in a woman.
Word Histories and the OED
In choosing the right shade of meaning, you will get a sharper sense for the word by knowing its etymological history—the word or words from which it evolved. In the preceding example, aggressive derives from the Latin aggressus, meaning “to go to or approach”; and aggressus is itself a combination of ad, a prefix expressing motion, and gradus, meaning “a step.” An aggressive person, then, is “coming at you.” Assertive, on the other hand, comes from the Latin asserere, combining ad and serere, meaning “to join or bind together.” An assertive person is “coming to build or put things together”—certainly not to threaten.
The best dictionary for pursuing word histories, by the way, is the Oxford English Dictionary, which commonly goes by its initials, OED. Available in every library reference collection and usually online at colleges and universities as well, it provides examples of how words have been used over time.
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Try This 17.1: Tracing Word