While the first presidential debate may seem like a distant memory at this point, there was one word in the course of the debate that confused many dictionary users. No no big or brag. It’s something a bit more opaque:
.@realDonaldTrump: Clinton’s email server “wasn’t just a mistake; it was done on purpose.” #debate https://t.co/PEzzZIXRbO
– Night line (@Nightline) September 27, 2016
Words misunderstood? deliberate.
“It was done on purpose”This guy can’t even speak English #debate
– Stephen Zubrycky (@stephenzubrycky) September 27, 2016
In the next debate, I’ll sit here and say “____ isn’t a word” all the time @realDonaldTrump say something like intentionally…
– forever (@forevereve) September 27, 2016
Digging deeper, it seems that many people feel that Trump should use purpose instead, since deliberate not really a word. except, like big And brag, deliberate To be a word — and a very common word there.
‘Having a purpose’ means ‘having a purpose’; ‘purposeful’ means “indicating the existence of a purpose.”
Meaning of purpose and purpose
deliberate came to English in the late 1400s or early 1500s, right in the middle of the -ly adverb boom in English. Its earliest and current meaning is “on purpose, on purpose”:
It is ordained…that no man takes any Eyre[r]Gossehaus [etc.] nor did they intentionally drive them out of their shelters.— Parliamentary action1495
In the second game, Jeanette started burying the ball from two and three cushions. Even when she intentionally slipped, she let him get blocked like at 5 p.m. on the LA freeway. — Rick Reilly, Sports IllustratedJuly 4, 2005
These two uses are typical and not uncommon: deliberate has been used more, historically, than purpose yes (and it is still used a bit more in printed English prose).
Purpose, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer. Our earliest evidence of the present word dates from the mid-1800s, with the meaning “indicating the existence of a purpose or object” or “not being meaningless or purposeless”, as in “We Are Made To Test Them On Purpose” (Elizabeth Grant, Memoirs of a girl in the Central Highlands1854).
Therefore, if deliberate actually more popular purpose, why do many people think that Trump is making up another word? Likely because the context of his comment seems to imply something that the word deliberate did not communicate: determined intent.
Determined purpose
Two words with the same root—purpose—but the meaning is slightly different. When used in prose, purpose seems to imply a determination or intention that deliberate no—do something purpose is to do it guided by a deliberate goal:
“I Knew You Were Trouble” boldly transitions into the dubstep realm, boasting heavy bass in some sections and vocals that have been purposefully auto-tuned for a mechanized sound. — Johns Hopkins Newsletter-LetterOctober 25, 2012
Popular use, deliberate seems to lack that level of determination:
She wore a long knitted dress that was intentionally made to look like home and reveal her growing pregnant belly, with her hair pulled back into a bun. — Janelle Brown, We live here2010
In everyday use, deliberate is good for indicating that something was done or said on purpose (as opposed to accidentally). But if it is done or said with a deliberate purpose or intention, then purpose is the adverb to use.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
