A Dictionary of Cont..

words (see compound words, temporary compounds,
prefixes, suffixes), or to break a word
at the end of a line (see division of words).
hypnosis. The plural is hypnoses.
hypnotic. A hypnotic is an agent that prosduces
sleep. This may be a drug, or in the case of
what is commonly thought of as hypnosis, a
spell or influence or suggestion. With the increasing
use in therapy of hypnotic states induced
by suggestion and susceptibility, the
adjective will probably continue its trend to
mean solely states so induced. But for the present
the pharmacopoeias use hypnotic to designate
a definite class of soporifics and seda.tives.
hypocrite is a term of reproach freely bestowed
in popular usage upon almost anyone whose
actions belie his professions. But the word
means one who pretends to be what he k:nows
he is not, who for ulterior motives makes an
ostentatious display of virtues which he secretly
despises. Such a course of action would require
a clarity of purpose, strength of will and Ihistrionic
skill so far above those possessed lay the
I. If you are in doubt whether to use me or I, the
chances are that me is better. See subjective
pronouns and passive voice.
ibid. This is an abbreviation of the Latin word
ibidem and means in the same place.
-ic; -ical. These are both adjective endings taken
over from Greek and Latin. Some adjectives,
such as musical and logical, have only the long
form. Some, such as frantic and public, have
only the short form. But a great many have
both. In such cases the form in -ical is likely to
be the older of the two. Occasionally, as in
politic and political, the two forms have different
meanings, but as a rule this is not the
case.
A grammarian writing in 1765 said, “-ic is a
foreign, and -ical a domestic termination. The
former therefore is used upon solemn, the latter
upon familiar occasions; as seraphic and seraphical,
microscopic and microscopical. When
the subject then is naturally solemn, the solemn
ending prevails; and where familiar, the familiar.”
This is no longer the situation. A twentieth
century American might say microscopic
at the breakfast table and give it no thought.
Modern British grammarians say that the
form in -ic frequently has the restricted meaning
of “of the nature of,” and the form in -ical
the wider, or looser, meaning of “practically
connected with.” They give as examples a comic
song but a comical incident, a tragic muse but
a tragical fate. In the United States this distinction
is recognized only in the case of a few
words. In general, the short form in -ic is pre-
229 -ic
I
ordinary person as to make him who had and
could employ them a rare man. It may be
doubted if outside of literature there have been
many true hypocrites. There have, of course,
been millions of muddled people who have
failed to perceive the most glaring opposition
between their ideals and their actions, and the
capacity for combining high principles and low
practices seems illimitable. But the intelligence
and detachment to be aware of it and the
strength of character to exploit it rarely go with
the almost blindly stupid selfishness that hypocrisy
requires.
hypothesis. The plural is hypotheses.
hysterics. This word may be treated as a singular
when it is thought of as the name of a disease.
But when it refers to the actual physical events
it is always treated as a plural, as in hysferics
are painfzcl fo watch. The shorter form of the
adjective, hysteric, is sometimes used to mean
a person who is inclined to hysterics, as in she
always was a hysteric. In any other use, the
longer form hysterical is preferred.
ferred, and the long form in -ical leaves many
people wondering why the speaker went to the
trouble of pronouncing that unnecessary syllable.
-ic; its. The suffix -ic is an adjective ending and
is used to form adjectives from nouns, as in
poetic, heroic, metallic. Adjectives formed in
this way may in turn become nouns, as has
happened with classic, cosmetic, lunatic, alcoholic.
Nouns can also be made from adjectives
ending in -ic by adding s, as in poetics and
heroics. The names of most of the sciences were
formed in one or the other of these ways.
Names for branches of learning that came
into English before 1500 end in -ic, as do music,
logic, arithmetic. Names which have come into
the language since then end in its, as do economics,
physics, mathematics. Recently some
writers, especially in philosophy, have chosen
to use the older ending on the newer words and
call their subjects metaphysic, ethic, or dialectic.
There is no difference in meaning between these
two forms.
The names of the sciences, or any primarily
intellectual subject, are always treated as singulars
and are used with a singular verb, as in
his mathematics was inadequate. Names of
practical matters are usually treated as plural,
as in his tactics were admirable. Frequently the
same word may be used in both senses, as in
acoustics deals with problems of sound and
the acoustics here are bad.
When words of this kind are used to qualify
a following noun they may keep their noun