skueppers Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Earlier this week, I was reading a writing curriculum's web site, and was bothered by some of the writing on the site. Upon reflection, I found that some of the things that rubbed me the wrong way were just matters of personal preference. For example, the word "conciseness" really gets to me, even though I realize it's a legitimate English word. I'm more drawn to "concision," another legitimate English word meaning the same thing. Since I realize it's an unusual choice, in practice I rephrase the sentence so I can use the word "concise" instead. Many of you are much more knowledgeable about words than I am, and I wonder if you have insight into why the "ness" ending on the word "concise" bothers me so much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 I think that there may be a bell going off in your head: precise, precision; concise, concision. You are uncomfortable about breaking the pattern. In addition, both 'precise' and 'concise' are of Latin origin, the 'cise' bit deriving from the word for 'to cut'. '-ness' is of Old English origin, so may feel to you as if it doesn't fit. That said, there are lots of words that mix origins: 'television', for example. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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