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Twice while watching the press conferences of senior U.S. officials concerning the anthrax scare, I heard the word weaponisation used. As in, the weaponisation of anthrax.
This sort of stupidisation and abusification of the English language really annoys me.
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the weaponisation of anthrax. This sort of stupidisation and abusification of the English language really annoys me.
In the good old days, anthrax killed people without any help from terrorists, Rousepeteur. Now it is used as a weapon. If we don't describe this as "the weaponisation of anthrax", how will we describe it? Spores don't target people, Rouse, people do.
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Plutarch has a point, in that when something never before thought of as a weapon, is made into one, a new word may be desirable to make this clear, though I doubt that it would be needed very often. Weaponization, while easy to understand, is clumsy enough that I too dislike it, but can't think of a better word.
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a couple of points on this one... 1) it's not a new word (which doesn't excuse it), it's been around since 1969, when it was evidently coined by the US Dept. of Defense 2) since it's a US coinage, the proper spelling is weaponization 3) as bill points out, there don't seem to be any better words at this point in time  oops... I lied, that was three points. as long as I've overextended my stay, I might as well throw in this cross thread: 'weapon' is a an archaic verb which has been almost completely vanquished by 'arm'. 1969 U.S. Dept. Defense Appropriation Bill 1970 (91st Congress 1 Sess., House Rep. 698) 72 Aircraft Weaponization (advanced and exploratory development) was reduced. 1973 Black Panther 7 Apr. 10/2 Observers worry that the fledgling crime protection industry may follow a similar line, with huge profits made in this industry supporting a new domestic lobby for more weaponized solutions to the anger of the ghetto, the barrio and the poor white hollow. 1976 Aviation Week 1 Nov. 19/2 He said the Navy plans to build a 3,000-ton ‘weaponized’ surface-effect ship. 1982 N.Y. Times 23 Mar. a–14/2 Chemical warfare agents were+weaponized with Soviet assistance in Laos, Vietnam and Kampuchea. 1983 Aviation Week 17 Jan. 27/2 He cited an alarming trend toward the weaponization of space as the reason for his new emphasis on the civilian uses of space.
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I will admit to some waffling on this issue. I'm not really sure the word is necessary, but on the other hand, one of the beauties of English is that if enough people think there should be a new word, there will be. Some will have a limited shelf life, for example splash-down, while others will persist.
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How about "weapons-grade anthrax", Rouspeteur? A New York Times editorial on Friday criticized a statement made at a press briefing on Thursday about the anthrax that was sent to Senator Daschle. A spokesman for the Defence Department said "the Daschle material" was "run of the mill" anthrax. The NYT editor noted that the spokesperson was not able to comment "on whether it had an aerosol-like quality or was weapons-grade anthrax". Seems to me that anything that is used as a weapon, and performs like a weapon, is "weapons-grade anthrax" whether or not it is "run of the mill".
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Seems to me that anything that is used as a weapon, and performs like a weapon, is "weapons-grade anthrax" whether or not it is "run of the mill".
In theory perhaps, but it is my understanding that in order to be an effective weapon, it does have to be refined to the point where the particles are small enough to affect the lungs. As an example, a lump of plutonium could be used a weapon since it is radioactive, but in order to use it in a nuclear weapon it must be refined considerably. It is weapons-grade once it is suitable for use in a nuclear device.
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Met a Swede the other day who told me something interesting that fits with this theme.
Apparently it is illegal to bring new words into the Icelandic language - they are trying to maintain its purity. When something new appears on the world's horizon (like "the internet" for instance), the Icelanders invent a word with roots from their own language to describe it. Sounds too damn hard.
(Was interesting to meet this Swedish guy - I thought they all had blue and yellow faces - but he didn't....)
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