"Commercial" words (WAS: plural people)

Joanne M. Despres jdespres at MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM
Thu Apr 20 15:09:38 UTC 2006


I think "dentifrice" is still used in the writing on toothpaste tubes --
but nowhere else that I can think of!   I suspect its continued use
on the tubes is the reason the word is still entered in general
dictionaries.

Joanne

On 20 Apr 2006, at 11:02, Wilson Gray wrote:

> On 4/19/06, Victoria Neufeldt <vneufeldt at merriam-webster.com> wrote:
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Victoria Neufeldt <vneufeldt at MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM>
> > Subject:      "Commercial" words (WAS: plural people)
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: American Dialect Society
> > > [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> > > Of Laurence Horn
> > > Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 11:36 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: plural people
> > >
> > >
> > > At 7:15 AM -0700 4/13/06, James Smith wrote:
> > > >I hear such plural references as meaning a group or
> > > >class in reference to an eponymous archtype.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Hey, I really like "eponymous archetype".  That's more grown up than
> > > "italics" and "dentifrice" put together!  (Actually, I was going to
> > > say that not only do I (like Wilson) remember "dentifrice" from TV
> > > commercials and magazine ads, but that those are the only places I
> > > can remember hearing/seeing it.  It's one of those words with
> > > commercial applications only.
> > >
> > > Larry
>
>
>
> Larry, I appreciate your trying to spare the feelings of a senior citizen,
> but it's from *radio* that *I* recall the use of "dentifrice." ;-) And, like
> Victoria, vide infra, I also have the impression that "launder" is a word
> extinct in the wild.
>
> -Wilson
>
>
> Like the verb 'launder'?
> >
> > Victoria
> >
> > Victoria Neufeldt
> > 727 9th Street East
> > Saskatoon, Sask.
> > S7H 0M6
> > Canada
> > Tel: 306-955-8910
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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