tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 17 08:06:24 1997
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Re: new words in dB format
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>Date: Fri, 17 Jan 1997 00:14:36 -0800
>From: [email protected]
>
>In a message dated 97-01-14 08:21:52 EST, Bill Wilmerdinger writes:
>
><< inally, I have a file of "speculative" words, whose meanings aren't
>defined
> (For example, {lItHa'} means "get off". I speculate that {lIt} means "get
> on". {nal} occurs in {be'nal}, {loDnal} and {nalqaD} and clearly means
>"mate,
> spouse" but does not occur alone in canon.) >>
I think Okrand said in TKW(?) that "*nal" does not occur in isolation. It
may be a "bound morpheme" which has a meaning but never occurs by itself
(like English "-ology"). So be careful about saying it "means 'spouse'".
That may be true, but it doesn't make it a word.
>About two years ago I asked about {lItHa'}'s having an opposite word {lIt}
>and what it might mean. The BG at that time said that there was not
>necessarily any logical opposite. He pointed out that English has many words
>beginning with in-, dis-, un-, etc. He used "inept" as his prime example. I
>have kept silent until now; but, I think maybe even "inept" has a opposite:
> "apt."
Actually, "apt" is not the opposite of "inept". The former means "proper
or fitting for a purpose" (usually of a thing) and the latter means
"inexperienced or incompetent" (of a person). The opposite of "inept" is
"adept." (and the opposite of "apt" is "inapt", actually)
There is also "inflammable" which means the same thing as "flammable"
(different in-; same is true of "incarcerate", which has no "*carcerate".
It's not a negative "in-"), and "uncouth" (where if "couth" is a word, it's
certainly not in common usage), and "ruthless" ("ruthful" exists, but is
also very rare), "inane", "unkempt," "unruly", "discordant" (opposite
"concordant," which probably counts), "disdain," "disemboawel," "dishevel,"
"disparage," "dispel," "disperse," "dispense," etc.
~mark
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