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

[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."