Qualifiable favorite?

[Duane Campbell]

On Thu, 29 Aug 2002 20:23:57 -0400 "Dennis R. Preston"

> >Webster's 10th Collegiate gives (definition #3) "UNUSUAL" for
> >unique. Hence, by definition (#3), it is qualifiable. It must be
> so;
> >it says so in the dictionary. (It even has a nice little
> mini-essay
> >about people who don't like def. #3.)

I have a friend who described Towanda, our mutual home town, as
unique, then went on to explain the etymology -- from the Latin "unus"
and "equinus."

BTW, Microsoft Bookshelf (American Heritage Dictionary) has an
interesting and unusually extensive usage note on the issue of
non-modifiable terms at "unique."

D