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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
No, no--not that kind! [borrowing from Helen e]
Today's Word reminded me of something I was wondering about the other day while driving: why do we have so many words that end in -mat or -matic? Chromatic; traumatic; laundromat (is an automatic laundromat a laundromatic?); idiomatic; symptomatic; instamatic; dramatic; problematic, etc.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
At the root of this profusion, there is the common greek suffix -ma, which takes the plural -mata. (e.g. drama, from drao - I act; trauma: wound; thema: proposition) The suffix often refers to an abstractum derived from the root. Many of the newer examples have also been fashioned more or less crudely according to the model "automaton" - which meant simply something that moved by itself (auto..)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Psst. Jackie. He's not Greek. He's Swiss.
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Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
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Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
That's why his theory is full of holes. DISCLAIMER: The author of this post expressly denies any actual criticism or even evaluation of wsieber's above etymological explanation, and wishes only to amuse readers on this forum with a bit of wordplay [which may or may not be a pun according to prescriptivists]. This post has been written in a biodegradeable UNIX color code that will disappear when exposed to direct sunlight, rain or intense criticism.
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
that's pretty cheesy alex...
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addict
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addict
Joined: May 2005
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But he made a Gouda counting of himself with that explanation. 
ÅΓª╥┐↕§
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
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I'm glad to see you'd rather Swiss than fight.
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
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I thought waffles are Belgian. 
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
He's not Greek. He's Swiss.
- It probably doesn't matter, if it sounds double-dutch to you.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And, I thought fries were Belgian.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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We started calling them when we realized that calling them french fries was an insult to the French.
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