Language tips

Q: Is there any difference in meaning between abolishment and abolition?

A: There seems to be no difference in meaning. Both words are derived from the same Latin root, abolere, "to destroy or efface," and they came into English at about the same time.

The American Heritage Dictionary (online) defines abolishment as “the act of abolishing a system or practice or institution,” as in “the abolition of capital punishment.” The same source defines abolition as “the act of doing away with,” as in, “the act of abolishing war.” Both nouns cite the other as a synonym. And both list as an antonym," establishment.”

Random House Unabridged Dictionary (online, 2006) lists as synonyms to abolish the verbs “eradicate” and “stamp out.” To abolish means “to cause to cease, often by summary order”; To stamp out” means implies forcibly ending something considered undesirable or harmful; to eradicate (literally “to tear out by the roots”) suggests extirpation, leaving no vestige or trace" (as in “to extirpate child labor”). The Oxford English Dictionary, noting that the two nouns are interchangeable, as is also abolishing, adds that currently abolition is more widely used. This may not be true in the United States. Here, the -ment suffix is very active. Because the two nouns are synonyms, it is probably that one will gradually disappear – unless they develop different meanings.

The -ment ending has resulted in a fairly new noun, diminishment, which may replace the older noun diminution. Like abolition and abolishment, diminution and diminishment are derived from the same Latin verb, diminuere, which entered English in the late Middle Ages, between 1450 and 1500.

Both originally had the literal meaning, “to make smaller,” but both now have expanded to mean “to detract from authority, reputation, or prestige.” Predictably, one member of that pair will disappear unless it changes meaning to distinguish it from the other.

My thanks to the correspondent who sent this question, along with the comment that both his mother and his English teacher had told him to prefer abolition to abolishment because abolition is shorter, and it means the same thing as abolishment. Good advice.

FROM THE MAILBAG I:

In the June “Language Tips,” a reader posed the perhaps-rhetorical question: “How come there are no eggs in eggplant, ham in hamburger, and neither apples nor pine in pineapples? Why are animals that are neither pigs nor from Guinea called ‘guinea pigs'? And why are ‘wise guy' and ‘wise man' antonyms, while ‘a slim chance' and a ‘fat chance' are synonyms?” I turned to readers of this column for answers, and John O'Rourke accepted the challenge, providing these answers:

1. The eggplant is so named because of its shape.

2. Hamburger derives from a sandwich that originated in Hamburg, Germany, a “burger” being a resident of a “burg” (town).

3. Pineapples got their name from their resemblance to pine cones, which were at one time referred to as “apples,” just as many grains were called “corn.”

4. How “cavies” came to be called “guinea pigs” has many explanations, none convincing, but I prefer the theory that “guinea” is a corruption of “cony,” meaning “rabbit.” Apparently they resemble pigs, make noises like pigs, and eat a lot.

5. “Slim chance” and “fat chance” mean the same because “fat” is used ironically and really means “slim.”

My thanks to Attorney O'Rourke. But as to how “guinea pigs” got their names, my American Heritage Dictionary (College Edition, 1985) says that the guinea pig, a South American burrowing rodent of the genus Cavia, got its name from Guiana, its supposed country of origin.

FROM THE MAILBAG II:

After reading my July column about backformations (e.g., cohabitate), frequent correspondent Jeffrey Liss smiled when he saw the “verb” valuate in a report. (The authors apparently had not read “Language Tips.”)

Gertrude Block is Lecturer Emerita at the University of Florida College of Law. Her book ,”Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers” (William S. Hein & Co., Inc.) was published in December 2004. Ms. Block is also author of “Effective Legal Writing”, 5th Edition (Foundation Press), with an accompanying instructor's manual. She is co-author of the “Judicial Opinion Writing Manual” (published by the American Bar Association, 1991). Send questions to the ISBA Bar News – Language Tips, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Bar Center, Springfield, IL 62701, or e-mail her at block@law.ufl.edu.