1.4 miles or 1.4 mile?
Tetsushi Nakahara
longer than a mile?
I assume I should write:
....
0.8 mile
0.9 mile
1 mile
????
2 miles
2.1 miles
2.2 miles
....
I guess that I should write "1.4 miles" because 1.4 is "more than one."
Am I right?
Tetsushi
--
Tetsushi Nakahara
Center for Economic Policy Research
Stanford University
Ethan Bradford
Which form should I use to indicate a distance that is 0.4 mile
longer than a mile?
I guess that I should write "1.4 miles" because 1.4 is "more than one."
Am I right?
That is correct. 1 mile, 1.00001 miles.
--
-- Ethan (eth...@u.washington.edu)
Mark Israel
> Which form should I use to indicate a distance that is 0.4 mile
> longer than a mile?
>
> I assume I should write:
> ....
> 0.8 mile
> 0.9 mile
No. Use "miles" unless the number is exactly 1 or -1. "0 miles",
"0.8 miles".
> 1 mile
> ????
> 2 miles
> 2.1 miles
> 2.2 miles
Yes. (But use "mile" when before another noun, e.g. "a 2-mile walk".)
> I guess that I should write "1.4 miles"
Yes.
user...@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca Mark Israel
"Oh, don't think I did a skimpy job. I looked it all up in the *big*
encyclopaedia!" -- C. M. Kornbluth
Brian Silverio
>longer than a mile?
>
>I assume I should write:
> ....
> 0.8 mile
> 0.9 mile
> 1 mile
> ????
> 2 miles
> 2.1 miles
> 2.2 miles
> ....
>
>I guess that I should write "1.4 miles" because 1.4 is "more than one."
>Am I right?
>
0.8 of a mile
0.9 of a mile
etc
1.1 miles etc
Sherwood Daniel Silliman
>In article <1992Jan30.2...@leland.Stanford.EDU> nk...@leland.Stanford.EDU (Tetsushi Nakahara) writes:
>>I assume I should write:
>> ....
>> 0.8 mile
>> 0.9 mile
>I always thought it was
> 0.8 of a mile
> 0.9 of a mile
I believe that this would depend on how you say these constructions.
I wouldn't say, "zero point eight of a mile" or "point eight of a mile."
I would say, "(zero or oh) point eight miles." However, if you see the
decimal notation but say it in a fractional notation, this construction
seems okay, i.e. "eight tenths of a mile."
I assume there are regional and dialectal variations for this.
(I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
--
Sherwood D. Silliman "When I give food to the poor, they call me a
saint. When I ask why the poor have no food,
they call me a communist." --Dom Helder Camara
Timothy J. Rolfe
For completeness, a counter-example: zero miles.
But as to the question, one would certainly say "one and four-tenth
miles."
--
--- Tim Rolfe
ro...@dsuvax.dsu.edu
RO...@SDNET.BITNET
Mary Shafer
go at that. The units are abbreviated (notice that there's only a period
after in. though) and then you don't have to deal with plurals.
--
Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
sha...@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov Of course I don't speak for NASA
"There's no kill like a guns kill." LCDR "Hoser" Satrapa, gunnery instructor
"A kill is a kill." Anonymous
J MICHAEL ALLEN
"Mac" (McDonald, Mackenzie, etc.). He was curious as to the origin of the
prefix. I have always assumed it someehow came from the "Hey, mac" sort of
mac ("fellow," I suppose, or something similar). Is this the case? Is the
origin of the prefix different? And if it comes from "Mac" meaning
fellow, does anyone know how it made its way onto so many surnames?
Thanks.
--Michael Allen
John Coughlin
"Mac" is a Gaelic prefix meaning "son of". The equivalent prefix "Mag" is
now very rare. "Mc" and "M'" are simply abbreviations of "Mac". The use
of "M'" has almost disappeared. The prefix originated in Ireland, and its
use was brought to Scotland later. By the way, the common belief that
"Mac" is exclusively Scottish and "Mc" is Irish is bunk.
On the same topic:
The "O'" prefix is also Irish Gaelic and means "[male] descendant of". It
was originally used to mean "grandson of". The older form of "O'"is "Ui".
"Ni" is used for daughters.
The "Fitz" prefix is Norman Irish and has the same meaning as "Mac". It
derives from "fils", which is French for "son".
Welsh uses "Ap" and "Up" for the same purpose (e.g. Apsimon, Upjohn).
Bayla Singer
the people now Scots (I can't keep my Celts clear of my Gaels and so on,
sorry). The prefix "O'" has a similar meaning, in the language of those
now Irish.
--bayla
Cameron Smith
wc...@alfred.carleton.ca (John Coughlin) writes:
>"Mac" is a Gaelic prefix meaning "son of". The equivalent prefix "Mag" is
Is this where the name "Magruder" comes from? That's the only
"Mag-" name I was able to think of.
>The "O'" prefix is also Irish Gaelic and means "[male] descendant of". It
>was originally used to mean "grandson of". The older form of "O'"is "Ui".
>"Ni" is used for daughters.
Some while back I read a historical novel with a character named
"Uilliam", which I mentally translated to "William". Does this
really mean "descendant of Liam"? Is this where "William" comes from?
>The "Fitz" prefix is Norman Irish and has the same meaning as "Mac". It
>derives from "fils", which is French for "son".
In English I thought that, at one time at least, this was used with
a connotation of bastardy. For example, I thought that "Fitzroy"
originated as an invented surname for a king's bastard, who (not
being officially acknowledged) wasn't eligible to use the name of
the monarch's house.
--Cameron Smith
cam...@symcom.math.uiuc.edu
John Coughlin
>In article <1992Feb1.0...@cunews.carleton.ca>
>wc...@alfred.carleton.ca (John Coughlin) writes:
>>"Mac" is a Gaelic prefix meaning "son of". The equivalent prefix "Mag" is
>>now very rare. [...]
>
>Is this where the name "Magruder" comes from? That's the only
>"Mag-" name I was able to think of.
Most Mag names became anglicized as "MacG[something]". For example:
Mag Aoidh --> MacGee/Magee Mag Uidhir --> MacGuire/Maguire
Mag Oirc --> MacGurk/McGurk Mag Bhruadair --> MacGrudder
I suspect Magruder to be an English name. MacGrudder is the closest Irish
name I was able to find in "The Surnames of Ireland" by Edward MacLysaght.
>>The "O'" prefix is also Irish Gaelic and means "[male] descendant of". It
>>was originally used to mean "grandson of". The older form of "O'"is "Ui".
>>"Ni" is used for daughters.
>
>Some while back I read a historical novel with a character named
>"Uilliam", which I mentally translated to "William". Does this
>really mean "descendant of Liam"? Is this where "William" comes from?
Mac Uilliam --> MacWilliam(s) is an Ulster name. MacLysaght points out
that this name is distinct from Fitzwilliam, which is a Leinster name.
I should point out that William is(s) chiefly a Welsh name.
>>The "Fitz" prefix is Norman Irish and has the same meaning as "Mac". It
>>derives from "fils", which is French for "son".
>
>In English I thought that, at one time at least, this was used with
>a connotation of bastardy. For example, I thought that "Fitzroy"
>originated as an invented surname for a king's bastard, who (not
>being officially acknowledged) wasn't eligible to use the name of
>the monarch's house.
Hmmm... That's interesting. MacLysaght is silent on this one. My
guess is that the name derives from the Irish "rua" (red). The basis
for my theory is that:
Mac Giolla Rua --> (Mac)Gilroy/MacIlroy/Kilroy
I haven't time to dash to the library today to confirm/deny this. Anyway,
I would be glad to continue this discussion via e-mail, so that we don't
disturb alt.usage.english folk further.
Graham Toal
:a connotation of bastardy. For example, I thought that "Fitzroy"
:originated as an invented surname for a king's bastard, who (not
:being officially acknowledged) wasn't eligible to use the name of
:the monarch's house.
No no, buggery, not bastardy :-) ("William FitzJohn, John
FitzPatrick, Patrick FitzWilliam"...)
G
Graham Toal
>I haven't time to dash to the library today to confirm/deny this. Anyway,
>I would be glad to continue this discussion via e-mail, so that we don't
>disturb alt.usage.english folk further.
Don't you dare! This is really interesting... (I mean, more so
than discussing names for freeway medians or the etymology of
the whole nine yards for the fifth time...)
G
Jennifer Drummond
throw in the fact that in James Goldman's play (and movie) _The Lion
in Winter_, Henry II of England once refers to himself as "Henry
Fitz-Empress, First Plantagenet..." plus a host of other titles.
This doesn't seem to me like something a king would call himself if
"Fitz" had that original connotation. The play takes place in 1183
A.D., so I would think it unlikely that the original meaning of the
prefix had already been lost by then. Of course, it's only a play,
not a historical text. Does anyone out there know for certain?
-- Jennifer Drummond
jdr...@ricevm1.rice.edu
Peter Moylan
--
Peter Moylan (originally something like O'Maolain)
ee...@wombat.newcastle.edu.au
Daniel Rosenblum
user...@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca (Mark Israel) writes:
>In article <1992Jan30.2...@leland.Stanford.EDU>,
> nk...@leland.Stanford.EDU (Tetsushi Nakahara) writes:
>> I assume I should write: .... 0.8 mile; 0.9 mile
> No. Use "miles" unless the number is exactly 1 or -1. "0 miles",
>"0.8 miles".
No. I can't speak to negative quantities, but I
always use "mile" if the distance is strictly
between 0 and 1. I've always seen
"0.8 mile" in print and never "0.8 miles".
--
Daniel M. Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Studies Area,
Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University (Newark Campus)
ROSE...@DRACO.RUTGERS.EDU ROSE...@ZODIAC.BITnet
d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu ...!rutgers!andromeda.rutgers.edu!dmr
J MICHAEL ALLEN
I didn't realize that "Mac" meant the same thing. I guess I displayed my
ignorance there--ignorance which my Irish forebears would not find
pleasing!
Anyway, thanks to John Coughlin and others for the information. And I am
delighted that the discussion has gone beyond the original question. I
find it very interesting. Don't take it off the net!
--Michael Allen
ed...@verifone.com
> longer than a mile?
>
> I assume I should write:
> ....
> 0.8 mile
> 0.9 mile
> 1 mile
> ????
> 2 miles
> 2.1 miles
> 2.2 miles
> ....
>
> I guess that I should write "1.4 miles" because 1.4 is "more than one."
> Am I right?
Right. "Singular" is "one." More than one is plural. A fraction of one is
a part of the singular.
0.25 is "One-quarter of one mile."
1.25 is One mile plus a quarter of another mile = miles.
--
===========================================================================
|| Ed L'Esperance - P.O. Box 4635, Kane`ohe, Hawai`i 96744 U.S.A. Earth ||
|| Anthropologist, Writer, Editor, etc. -*- IN%"Ed...@VeriFone.Com" ||
|| DISCLAIMER: ||
|| Opinions Copyright 1992 Ed L'Esperance. All Rights Reserved ||
===========================================================================
Kathleen Much
>>derives from "fils", which is French for "son".
>
>In English I thought that, at one time at least, this was used with
>a connotation of bastardy. For example, I thought that "Fitzroy"
>originated as an invented surname for a king's bastard, who (not
>being officially acknowledged) wasn't eligible to use the name of
>the monarch's house.
Yes, "Fitz" derives from "fils", but it does not necessarily connote
bastardy. Henry II Fitz-Empress (son of Matilda, whose first husband
was Emperor of Germany and who was known as Empress Maud even after he
died) was certainly legitimate. He was also called Henry of Anjou (his
father was Geoffrey, Count of Anjou). Some other Fitz-es were not
legitimate, though. Fitzroy was used for a few kings' sons by the bar
sinister, and Fitz -gerald, -william, etc., often came by their
appellations because they could not inherit their fathers' surnames or
titles. Remember that surnames came into use gradually and fitfully in
England; they were not invariably handed down from father to son until
rather late (15th century or so in some parts) for commoners and even
later for nobles, who are still usually called by their titles (e.g.,
"Snowdon" is Tony Armstrong-Jones, created Lord Snowdon after he
married Princess Margaret; his son is Viscount Linley).
Welsh names give genealogists fits because the surname changed with
each generation until recently: David ap Griffith, son of Griffith ap
Hugh, son of Hugh ap David, etc. Scandinavian names were similar
(Alvar Jonsson, son of Jon Alvarson . . .), and Icelandic ones even
change with gender (Helga Gunnarsdottir and Per Gunnarson could be
siblings).
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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CASBS, 202 Junipero Serra Blvd. |Phone: (415) 321-2052
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David A. Johns
# 0.25 is "One-quarter of one mile."
Or "point two five miles".
Liam R. E. Quin
> cam...@symcom.math.uiuc.edu (Cameron Smith) writes:
>> Some while back I read a historical novel with a character named
>> "Uilliam", which I mentally translated to "William". Does this
>> really mean "descendant of Liam"? Is this where "William" comes from?
No.
Uilliam is a Gelic spelling of Uilliam. Liam is a shortening of William.
Chambers English Dictionary [1988] gives the following entry (p. 1785):
William _wil'y@m_, m. (Gmc) will-helmet.--
L. Gulielmus, Guilielmus,
Ger. Wilhelm,
Fr. Guillaume,
It. Gugliemo,
Sp. Guillermo, Guillelmo,
Ir. Liam,
Gael. Uilleam,
W[elsh] Gwillym, Gwilym
Liam
--
Liam Quin, l...@sq.com, SoftQuad, Toronto, 416 239-4801; the barefoot programmer
``Mentula cum doleat puero, tibi, Naevole, culus, non sum divinus,
sed scio quid facias.'' Martial, Epigrams Bk. III, LXXI (approx. A.D. 80-85)
Bengt G{llmo
cam...@symcom.math.uiuc.edu (Cameron Smith) writes:
> Is this where the name "Magruder" comes from? That's the only
> "Mag-" name I was able to think of.
Maguire
Bengt
--
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