A Dictionary of Cont..

is, the two things are far from the same. All
first-degree murders are done intentionally; few
are done advisedly.
aegis. In Greek mythology the aegis is the shield
of Zeus. There is only one aegis and in its
classical sense the word does not have a plural.
Anyone, therefore, who feels the need for a
plural should use the English form aegises,
rather than the pseudo-classical aeges.
aerie is the preferred spelling for the nest of a
bird of prey, though aery, eyrie, and eyry are
also acceptable.
aesthetics means the philosophy of the beautiful.
The adjective aesthetic, which is older than the
noun aesthetics, means responsive to the beautiful.
Darwin wrote: Birds appear to be the
most aesthetic of all animals, excepting of
course man. and they have nearly the same
taste for the beautiful as we have. Today
aesthetic may also be used to mean conforming
to the principles of aesthetics, and one may
hear of aesthetic wallpaper. This makes some
people wish that we had the second adjective
aesthetical in common use, in order to distinguish
between these very different meanings
of the word.
affect; effect. These are totally different words.
Affect is always a verb (except in a special use
in psychology where it denotes a feeling or
emotion). It means to act on, to impress, to
produce a change in, and it also means to
pretend, to feign, to make a show of (Music
affects some people very strongly. She affects
great delicacy). See also pretend.
The verb effect means to produce as a
result, to bring about, to accomplish, to make
happen (He etfected his escape by slugging a
guard).
The noun effect means result or consequence
(The effect of her scolding was to make the
boy angry); power to produce results (His
pleas were of no effect); a mental impression
produced by painting or a speech or music or
some other art or skill (The decorations made
quite an eflect).
Efiects, the plural, means personal possessions
(The dead soldier’s effects were sent to
his family).
The adjectives stemming from effect are
often confusing. There are four of them.
Eficacious means that which produces a
desired effect (The treatment was eficacious
and the patient recovered). Eficient means
adequate in performance, having and using the
requisite knowledge and skill, competent (The
diesel engine is highly eficient. He was an
efficient man and soon got the job done).
Effectual means adequate, capable of producing
the desired effect (The hydrogen bomb is an
effectual weapon only against a few very
large cities). Ineffectual, applied to persons,
has come to mean vaguely and generally incompetent
and useless. Effective means producing
an intended result (The tax was effective
in limiting incomes) or it can mean
actuallv in effect (Prohibition became effective
in 1919).
19 afraid
affection; affectation. In its most general sense,
uflection means settled good will, love, warm
attachment (His affection for his children was
touching to see). Affectation means the striving
for the appearance of some quality or ability
not actually possessed, pretense, artificiality of
manner or conduct, an attempt to attract attention
by an assumed manner, and so on.
(An affectation of manner can easily alienate
aflection).
Formerly the words were interchangeable.
Sheridan in The School for Scandal sueaks of
a gross affection of good. manners and Gibbon
refers, with obvious approbation, to a lady’s
affectation of the manners, the language, and
the literature of France.
affiliate; affiliation. To aflliate is to assume the
relation of a child to a parent. This meaning
is retained in law where the term means to
affix the paternity of a child (The mother
a#iliated the child upon Richard Roe). Branch
banks are affiliated witb the parent bank and
in England (where the word is restricted
almost exclusively to this meaning) colleges
are affiliated with the university.
In America the term is used loosely for
joining, accepting membership in, or even for
merely associating or being friendly with (He
afhliated with the Baptist Church. Our nearest
neighbors live several miles away, and we don’t
afiliate with them much). There is an element
of pompousness in these uses, however, and
unless a closer relationship than just joining or
associating with is meant, it is better to avoid
afiliate.
affinity. Since nfinity means an attraction to or
a natural liking for, the use of to or for with
it is redundant. Affinity is with a thing, between
two things or persons.
affirm. See declare.
affix. An afix. in grammar, is any meaningful element
(prefix, infix, suffix) added to a stem or
base, as -ed is added to kill to make killed or
intra- is prefixed to mural to make intramural.
afflatus. The plural is aflatuses or afflatus, not
aflati.
afflict. See inflict.
affluent. See rich.
afford may be followed by an infinitive, as in
I can’t af7ord to go every night, or by the -ing
form of a verb, as in I can’t afford going every
night. The infinitive is generally preferred.
a fortiori is not the same as a priori. A priori
is arguing from cause to effect, from a
general law to a particular instance (its
opposite, a posteriori, is arguing back from
effects to causes). A fortiori is stating a fact
which must be even more obviously true if one
already accepted is true. Thus if it is accepted
that so-and-so drank a gallon of beer, it is an
a fortiori fact that he must have drunk two
quarts. See also a priori.
afraid. This adjective cannot be used immediately
before a noun. We may say the man wus afraid
but not the afraid man.
Afraid may be followed by a clause, as in
he is afraid he will die, or by an infinitive, as