De-gaying

[Benjamin Barrett]

Ahh...Never having done that, I didn't know there was an innovative form. I
agree delouse is correct (or at least far better than) delice, though I've
often wondered if singulars like louse and bacterium are going to die out.
BB

>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]
>On Behalf Of Laurence Horn

>
>>?Delice or derice a child's hair?...BB
>
>For me, the former is only "de-louse", and that's a
>lexicalized version of what "de-rice" is an innovative version of.