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Thanks for the clarification, everyone.
I just feel better that I'm not the only one that didn't get the reference.
I can admit to slight feelings of superiority when I hear someone use the word 'irregardless.'
I feel a tad guilty about that.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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irregardless
My superior intuition about the prefix in irregardless is that it is the same intensifier as the in- in inflammable. The prefix in- (also il-, im-, or ir-) in Latin was not only used for negation, it was an intensifier, also. There was also another, third, meaning of 'in, into, on' as in invade or invent (literally 'come upon', 'find', etc.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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irregardless
My superior intuition about the prefix in irregardless is that it is the same intensifier as the in- in inflammable. and my innate cynicism informs me that irregardless really was (originally) just a fortuitous* blend of regardless and irrespective -- in the latter of which the prefix -ir is not an intensifier, but a negation. *and I don't mean lucky!! - joe (each of us succumbs to peevology on occasion) friday
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Pooh-Bah
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irregardless
The prefix in- (also il-, im-, or ir-) in Latin was not only used for negation, it was an intensifier, also. Boy, I'll bet that could lead to some misunderstandings and nights on the couch. "How do I look?" "Inelegant. Ouch! No,no, I meant that as an intensifier..."
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"irregardless
an erroneous word that, etymologically, means the exact opposite of what it is used to express, attested in non-standard writing from 1912, probably a blend of irrespective and regardless. Perhaps inspired by the double negative used as an emphatic."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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regardless is to irregardless
as irregardless is to irregardlessly
as preventive is to preventative
as important is to importantly
Join me all in my quest to curtail unnecessary keystrokes
Last edited by dalehileman; 02/02/08 05:47 PM.
dalehileman
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"irregardless
an erroneous word that, etymologically, means the exact opposite of what it is used to express, attested in non-standard writing from 1912, probably a blend of irrespective and regardless. Perhaps inspired by the double negative used as an emphatic."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper Not so, Douglas Harper, you are being silly. No word can mean the exact opposite of what it is intended to express. Words transfer information between a minimum of two human beings and any validation is only subject to the sucessful transfer of the intended meaning. But irregardlessly, most double negatives are perceived by the ear as intensifiers or emphatics, especially here in the South where when you say "I don't want no mo grits" it means that you really doesn't want any more grits at the moment. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Douglas Harper
Sorry, but it's my etymology, and it differs from Mr Harper's.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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No word can mean the exact opposite of what it is intended to express. Yeah, right.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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regardless is to irregardless
as irregardless is to irregardlessly
as preventive is to preventative
as important is to importantly
Join me all in my quest to curtail unnecessary keystrokes a preventative - a preventive measure noun vs adjective importantly - with an important air adverb vs adjective It doesn't sound like a matter of keystrokes to me.
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