Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 March 17
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March 17
editAntonym for "drown"
editIf an air-breathing organism dies by getting filled its body with water, it's drowning. What is the English word for the reverse phenomenon, where a fish or other water-breathing organism is stuck outside the water and can't breathe and dies? Jeremy Jigglypuff Jones (talk) 00:29, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- I've heard "suffocate" used. StuRat (talk) 01:37, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- Asphyxiate, perhaps? - But not mentioned specifically in the article, neither for suffocate. When a "fish-out-of-water" dies from lack of oxygen, it would be a form of asphyxiation - so, it's not really an antonym for "drowning"
- — Good question, however! (which doesn't necessarily mean there's a good answer) ~E:74.60.29.141 (talk) 03:13, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- Strictly speaking, drown doesn't have an antonym. Asphyxiation or suffocation are broader terms that include drowning (drowning is merely suffocation in water) as a subcategory, and for life forms that extract oxygen from water rather than air, there is not (as far as I am aware) any term for that sort of death, so the broader terms (asphyxiation or suffocation) can be used in that case; those terms are not opposites because drowning is not a concept that opens itself to opposition (perhaps swimming is the opposite of drowning, but even that isn't very good). Antonymy as a concept only really works in words that come in clear binary pairs (good/evil, black/white, up/down, etc.) It doesn't work for words that don't come in such neat pairs, and "drowning" isn't part of such a pair. --Jayron32 04:58, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- The closest "antonym" I can think of to "drown" is "survive". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:56, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- Strictly speaking, drown doesn't have an antonym. Asphyxiation or suffocation are broader terms that include drowning (drowning is merely suffocation in water) as a subcategory, and for life forms that extract oxygen from water rather than air, there is not (as far as I am aware) any term for that sort of death, so the broader terms (asphyxiation or suffocation) can be used in that case; those terms are not opposites because drowning is not a concept that opens itself to opposition (perhaps swimming is the opposite of drowning, but even that isn't very good). Antonymy as a concept only really works in words that come in clear binary pairs (good/evil, black/white, up/down, etc.) It doesn't work for words that don't come in such neat pairs, and "drowning" isn't part of such a pair. --Jayron32 04:58, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- Maybe "corollary" or "analogue" to drowning. Here are some ideas on what to call it when a fish "suffocates" due to being taken out of the water.[1] Keep in mid that fish can "drown" in water, if the water is insufficiently oxigenated. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:57, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- On which point, we have an article called Hypoxia in fish. Alansplodge (talk) 11:58, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- Desiccation. μηδείς (talk) 03:41, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
- nwording?165.212.189.187 (talk) 15:31, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
- Didn't anyone tell you the n word is not to be mentioned? Anyway, the answer is waving. -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 20:22, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
Pronunciation of unusual or foreign words
editPlease consider adding a pronunciation link for unusual words such as Russian composers' (I'm trying to find the correct pronunciation for Sergei Lyapunov) names at the beginning of relevant articles. Thanks! ps Wiki is really a valuable tool. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.237.49.102 (talk) 04:50, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- There are pronunciation guides for many articles, but as Wikipedia is entirely user created (i.e. every single article you read is created and edited by people who are no different than you), it depends on someone creating a pronunciation guide of their own volition. There is no central authority at Wikipedia that does this sort of thing. --Jayron32 04:55, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- I've asked if anyone at WikiProject Russia can help you, 24.237.49.102. 184.147.116.201 (talk) 17:18, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
MEANING OF WORDS
editWhere can I find the difference of meaning between two similar words? e.g. contract and agreement - in Law Thank You.175.157.218.166 (talk) 05:15, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- A dictionary would be a good place to start. Good luck! — Cheers, JackLee –talk– 06:00, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- And just in case, you don't own one, here's a useful link: http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/#Differences ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 06:39, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- And since the OP asked specifically about legal definitions, I feel compelled to recommend Black's. Evanh2008 (talk|contribs) 07:32, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- The article "Contract" gives an introduction, but a proper law book will give more detail and examples. The question of when an agreement constitutes a legal contract has exercised the minds of many lawyers. The answer will depend, to some extent, on the jurisdiction. Dbfirs 20:39, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
- You really need to get the dictionary for your jurisdiction (country or state), as the legal meaning of different words will differ between different English-speaking countries. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 14:36, 20 March 2013 (UTC)
- The article "Contract" gives an introduction, but a proper law book will give more detail and examples. The question of when an agreement constitutes a legal contract has exercised the minds of many lawyers. The answer will depend, to some extent, on the jurisdiction. Dbfirs 20:39, 17 March 2013 (UTC)