6 ms·

Deep thoughts: why aren’t “increment” and “excrement” opposites?

• Joker_vD 2y ago
  Because "increase" and "excrete" have completely different roots that only coincidentally coincide when the verbal nouns corresponding to those words are formed.
  • deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  • knodi123 2y ago
    now do "progress" and "congress"!
    • Joker_vD 2y ago
      You mean, the difference between "going forward" and "coming together"? It's in the prefix, "pro-" (for, forward) versus "con-" (with, together) which give you different shades of the meaning. Can't really say what's the verb of movement was though.
      • oersted 2y ago
        I think he meant it as an absurdist joke, but this is a great response! I looked it up, "gress" comes from "gradi" in Latin which directly translates to "walk". More specifically: con(pro) + gradi -> congredi (verb) -> congressus (noun) Edit: Knowing this, "gradient" has an interesting flavour :) Edit: It looks like the path is more indirect for "gradient" "gradi" (walk) -> "gradus" (step) -> "grade" (french influence) + "salient" -> "gradient". I like that in Latin "walk" is "to step", or perhaps "step" is "the unit of walking"? "A walking"? Etymology is fun!
        • randomdata 2y ago
          now do "flammable" and "inflammable"!
          • dpkirchner 2y ago
            What a country!
        • Joker_vD 2y ago
          > I like that in Latin "walk" is "to step", or perhaps "step" is "the unit of walking"? "A walking"? Consider the verb "to pace", and the corresponding noun "pace": the analogy is almost perfect. Of course, Latin also had other words for going places.
• IWeldMelons 2y ago
  Your name checks out. You should be an expert in that (excremental) matters.