[python-committers] English 'precise' is only an adjective, not a verb.

[Alexander Belopolsky]

On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 6:29 PM, "Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v.loewis.de> wrote:
>> For the benefit of people who are not native-English speakers and who
>> wish to write literate English: The English word 'precise' is only an
>> adjective, and not a verb, so the above does not work as an English
>> sentence.
>>

I find it peculiar that in international forums "literate English" is
not always the most effective form of communication.  I had no problem
understanding what Antoine wrote.  In fact, Russian, just as French
and German, has a verb form of the word "precise".

I still appreciate Terry's and other native speakers' comments on
English usage.  As Edsger Dijkstra once wrote, "Besides a mathematical
inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is
the most vital asset of a competent programmer."

http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD04xx/EWD498.html

>> This mistake, which I have seen before, has an understandable reason.
>> 'Precise' is derived (borrowed) from the French "pre'cis" which is at
>> least a verb and noun. "Pre'cis" comes from the Latin 'praecisus' and
>> 'praecidere'. Spanish has the same verb in the form 'precisar'.
>
> FWIW, we have "präzisieren", supposedly imported from the French word
> in the 19th century. Too bad the Englishmen failed to accept that import
> :-( The best the dictionaries come up with (besides "to specify")
> is "to state more precisely", "to render more precisely".
>
> Regards,
> Martin
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