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David108>I'm probably suffering from millennium overload!
no doubt this one has been driven into the ground recently, but we may have to resort to the OED as to which sense came first. Webster's Third Int'l has the order reversed from what you quoted and logically you'd think that it originally meant simply a period of 1000 years, given its roots are New Latin mille + ennium.
[later in the day}
okay, this one is arguable -- according to the OED, the first known written English usage (ca. 1634) was indeed in reference to the 1000 year reign of Christ, borrowing directly the existing New Latin word for 1000 years (which follows the pattern of biennium, triennium, etc.); English poets soon (ca. 1711) picked up on the general usage. Reading between the lines here, W3 evidently lists the general usage first becasue of the pre-existing NL word. (quoting the W3 preface) "In definition of words of many meanings the earliest ascertainable meaning is listed first."
Credit current overuse to the Mass Media. (no pun intended with 'Mass' :)
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Decimate
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
jmh 05/27/00 04:54 PM ![]()
Re: Chauvinist
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Re: Chauvinist
tsuwm 05/28/00 07:11 PM ![]()
Re: some other examples
David108 05/28/00 07:24 PM ![]()
re: millennium
tsuwm 05/30/00 02:54 PM ![]()
Re: re: millennium
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Re: Chauvinist
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Re: usage panels
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Re: usage panels
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Re: usage panels
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Re: usage panels
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Re: usage panels
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Re: usage panels
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Re: Decimate
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Re: Decimate
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Re: Decimate
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Globalisation
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Re: Globalisation
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Re: Decimate
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Re: Decimate
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: absence makes it hard to find 'er
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Re: Ladies
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Re: absence makes it hard to find 'er
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Hmmmmm
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Re: Hmmmmm
tsuwm 05/28/00 07:05 PM ![]()
Re: Hmmmmm
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Re: Hmmmmm
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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The spoken word
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Re: Latin
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Re: Other Planets
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Re: Latin
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Re: Latin
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