service = 'benefit afforded by animal activity'

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sun Sep 12 00:02:16 UTC 2010


At 9/11/2010 05:50 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>On _All Things Considered_ this evening an ecologist explained that wild
>insects in the rain forest "provide many services, such as pollination."
>Later she spoke again of various such "services," including "pollination
>services."

Is this so far off target?  Stallions (and other male animals)
provide stud services.  As the OED quaintly puts it, service (n.1)
"36. The action of covering a female animal."

Joel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list