D Archives | Page 17 of 32

Dominant vs predominant

Dominant means most influential, having the greatest importance. Dominant also means exerting the greatest influence over others. In genetics, dominant describes characteristics which are heritable even if only one parent carries the genes for those characteristics. Dominant may be used as either an adjective or a noun. The word dominant comes from the Latin word dominant, meaning ruling, governing. Predominant means most influential, having the greatest importance. Predominant also means most conspicuous, the main element. Predominant comes from the Latin …

Disparity vs disparateness

by Grammarist

Disparity means a great dissimilarity, a wide difference between two or more items, people or circumstances. Disparity is related to disparate and comes from the Middle French word disparité, which in turn comes from the Latin word disparitas meaning inequality. The plural form of disparity is disparities. Disparateness also means a great dissimilarity, a wide difference between two or more items, people or circumstances. Disparateness is also related to disparate, derived from the Latin word disparitas. Disparateness and disparity are …

Diaspora

by Grammarist

A diaspora is a body of people that have been dispersed outside their homeland. Diaspora may also refer to the action of dispersing a body of people outside their homeland. When capitalized as in Diaspora, the word refers to the dispersion of Jews from their homeland after the Babylonian and Roman conquests or the Jewish people and Jewish communities existing outside of Palestine after the Babylonian and Roman conquests. The word diaspora comes from the Greek word diaspeirein, meaning to …

Buckle Down—Unraveling the Determination Behind the Idiom

by Candace Osmond

Buckle down means to earnestly and resolutely dedicate oneself to a task, challenge, or responsibility. At its core, buckle down is an idiom used to encourage focus and hard work; it’s a call to action, urging someone to commit seriously to a task at hand. Idioms like buckle down are expressions or phrases that don’t have literal meanings within the words used; instead, they have a figurative definition. They’re essential to the English language because they carry lessons learned throughout …

Dibs and calling dibs

by Grammarist

Dibs is a word used when laying claim to something. Calling dibs on something is an assertion of one’s rights. The idea of dibs, calling dibs or calling first dibs goes back to an eighteenth century children’s game called dibstones. Dibstones was a game akin to jacks, played with sheep knuckles. Children would announce “Dibs!” as they picked up each sheep knuckle, or called dibs. Eventually the term grew to include any instance when someone laid claim to something or …

Draw a line in the sand

by Grammarist

To draw a line in the sand means to establish limits, going beyond these limits will bring consequences. Drawing a line in the sand is a device which stretches back to Ancient Rome, though the most well-known incidents of drawing a line in the sand are in Peru during the time of Pizarro’s exploration and at the Battle of the Alamo in Texas. Related terms are draws a line in the sand, drew a line in the sand, drawing a …

Dieresis and diaeresis

by Grammarist

A dieresis is a punctuation mark that is placed over the second vowel of two adjacent vowels to indicate that they are not a sounded together, as in a dipthong. The two vowels are divided into two separate syllables. A dieresis consists of two dots. The word dieresis comes into the English language in the 1610s from the Greek word diairesis, which means division. Dieresis is the American spelling. Diaeresis is the British spelling. A diaeresis looks similar to an …

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Nerd, Geek, or Dork – What’s the Difference?

by Candace Osmond

The words “nerd,” “geek,” and “dork” are often used to describe someone who is passionate about a particular subject or activity, but they can also be used as insults. While these words may be used interchangeably by some people, they do have distinct meanings and connotations. Understanding the difference between these terms can help you use them more accurately and avoid offending anyone. Stick with me as I break down these three terms and show you the differences so you …

Doubting Thomas

by Grammarist

A doubting Thomas is a person who refuses to believe something without tangible proof, a confirmed skeptic. The term doubting Thomas comes from the New Testament story concerning the apostle Thomas. When the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples Thomas was not present, he refused to believe their story of seeing the risen Jesus. Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, …

Bisect vs dissect

by Grammarist

Bisect means to divide into two parts equal parts, to cut in two. Bisect comes from the prefix bi- which means two, and the Latin word sect, derived from the word secare which means to cut. Related words are bisects, bisected, bisecting, bisection, bisector. Dissect means means to cut apart methodically in order to learn about the internal workings of something, especially a dead animal or plant. Dissect is also used figuratively to mean to analyze something piece by piece. …

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