polemic (puh-LEM-ik, poh-) noun

1. A controversial argument.

2. A person who engages in arguments or controversy; a controversialist.

adjective, also polemical

Of or pertaining to a controversy or argument.

[From Greek polemikós, from pólemos (war). A related word is polemology
(the science and study of human conflict and war).] {e.a.}


I was really surprised to see the second definition of this familiar term – I might have recognised polemicist, or polemic used in an adjectival sense such as:

“Her bulimic figure attracted the polemic youth.”

However I would have up to now stopped short and re-read a sentence like “He’s a polemic”. I see from various dictionaries Anu’s def seems widely recognised, but.

Did this strike anyone else as odd ~ comments?

are you in general stopped short by adjectives which act as nouns, or just this one in particular?

Just this pert-tickly one, I think. But mebbe it's because I need to sleep. Try me with some alternatives and I'll perhaps be able to see the patterns more clearly later today... :)

hoo boy, one hardly knows where to start; but here then are some *ics: academic, cosmetic, dogmatic, eclectic, endemic, elastic, organic, irenic (to pair with polemic), lexemic(!), paradigmatic(!!).

I will grant you that a few of these are rare or generally plural in the noun form but. also, fwiw, there are 5144 words in OED2 which are listed as both adj. and n., if you want to explore this further.

5144 seems a bit low for words listed as both nouns and adjectives. Quite a bit. Enormously quite a gargantuan bit.

You were just referring to the -ic adjectives/nouns, yes?

It's late for me, too.

(You know how I hate to death missing the obvious.)

I think what this is (if I've used their search function correctly) is the number of adjectives which have been nouned, as opposed to the nouns which have been adjectivised®. I'm assuming the latter class would be of little interest here.

Only 5144? How common must the usage be for nounification to be solidified? (or am I asking the proverbic® question?)

Orgasmic?

academic, cosmetic, dogmatic, eclectic, endemic, elastic, organic, irenic (to pair with polemic), lexemic(!), paradigmatic(!!).

More and more innerestin.

I realise my eye performs no stop-and-look at the description of "an academic", but I would prolly re-read it if someone described my favourite nuncle ron as "a dogmatic"! There does not seem any ockham test I can do on this but simple custom. Does no-one else have any reservation about encountering some of these adjectival descriptions in the form of nouns? ~ I find that hard to believe.

Does no-one else have any reservation

yes. some seem to work, others don't. it would take an exhaustive bit of research to find any link. could be fun, but I don't think I'm likely to figure it out. it's like the whole orientate thang...

the whole orientate thang...

Hoo~hah! You'll be answerin' to Mz Jackie fer that, an she's a real dogmatic about that'un

Mz Jackie
oh, I think we's orientated the same ways on it.

I still don't see why a careful user of the language would prefer a verbed noun to a word which has never been anything but a verb.

That depends upon what they're caring about.

careful user

orientate jes' feels clunky. that's all.

That depends upon what they're caring about.

Even for a master of droll and gnomic utterances, that's a good'un...

now lemme see, does babel have a musick translator?