DEAR FANDOM

[cimorene]

I was just going to rant and call you names but then I thought I'd let the Oxford English dictionary speak for me.

• discreet
  
  /diskreet/
  
  • adjective (discreeter, discreetest) careful not to attract attention or give offence.
  
  — DERIVATIVES discreetly adverb.
  
  — USAGE The words discrete and discreet are often confused. Discrete means ‘separate’ (a discrete unit), while discreet means ‘careful and prudent’.
  
  — ORIGIN Old French discret, from Latin discretus ‘separate’.



• discrete
  
  /diskreet/
  
  • adjective individually separate and distinct.
  
  — DERIVATIVES discretely adverb discreteness noun.
  
  — ORIGIN Latin discretus ‘separate’: compare with DISCREET.

OKAY? OKAY.

Next person to use 'discrete' when they're talking about secrecy of love affairs gets deleted from the internet!

Comments

[klynie1.livejournal.com]

You might want to delete me as a preventative measure, since you're sure to see improper usage of both words from me. I can never get them right, even when I look them up, and it's common enough that even my betas often miss it. And I've got damned good betas. *g*

[perhael.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I didn't even know this. In Dutch, as in German, there is only one word for both. Thank God I've never had occasion to use either, eh?

[i-naiad.livejournal.com]

I am completely with you on this - it drives me insane.

[claire.livejournal.com]

I CAN ONLY BE SECRETIVE ABOUT ONE LOVE AFFAIR AT A TIME!

[mmeguilotn.livejournal.com]

I recently caught myself about to leave a comment on a story congratulating the author on actually meaning discrete when she used it. I decided that it wasn't her fault that everyone else sucks, but still. Hate!

[vass]

Amen.

[someblazingstar.livejournal.com]

Oh, word. I was starting to wonder if I was the only person on the ENTIRE INTERNET who understood that "discrete" does not mean "unobtrusive."