this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] EleventhHour 82 points 1 month ago (4 children)

it’s the word “finite” with de- in the beginning and -ly at the end. That’s how I remember.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's actually helpful. Thanks.

[–] Dabundis 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Also helps to think of the word "definitely" as meaning "by definition"

[–] mexicancartel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Yeah i don't know to spell defenition

[–] DannyBoy@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

Did you mean "defenestration"?

[–] kn33 2 points 1 month ago

That helps, but it doesn't help me remember if it's "definitely", "definitley", or "definitly".

[–] pixelscript@lemm.ee 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's not like this superficially either. That's literally what the word is.

finite - to have a limit, be bounded

The de- part is acting like it does in words like defraud. It's not a negative, like you might see in detox, where it means to remove something or undo something. Instead, it simply insists something has been done, not unlike the suffix -ify. You've been defrauded. In a manner of speaking, you could say you've been "fraud-ified".

You could say something that has been defined has been "finite-ified". The possibilities of what it could be were limitless, but you restricted them to something specific. You've made it finite. You've defined it. It is definite.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Is it fin-it or fine-ite

[–] Venator@lemmy.nz 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Defiantly going to remember how to spell it now!

[–] EleventhHour 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

It also works for ‘infinitely’

[–] Venator@lemmy.nz 1 points 1 month ago

Indefiantly? 🤔😅

[–] TheOakTree@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I always told people "definitely is spelled like infinitely, so just remember how to spell infinite"

But I suppose "finite" is even better than "infinite" since there's less to remember.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's more that finite is easier because it has the long I sound at the beginning which clearly designates it as I. The short i sound in most English dialects is a middling kind of "ehh" sound that can be confused for an e a lot when sounding out a word. When I misspell definitely it's because I spell it defenitely.

[–] TheOakTree@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My reasoning for why "infinite" would be easy to remember is because "infinity" is notably a word with only i as a main vowel (excluding the y)

But I see what you mean too

[–] Benaaasaaas 2 points 1 month ago

My reasoning is that infinite is pronounced like definite, unlike finite which is pronounced nothing like definite.

[–] rudyharrelson@lemmy.radio 35 points 1 month ago
[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

People online tell me that language is fluid and spelling is interpretive. Just let your reviewers know that if they mark anything!

[–] Mr_Blott@feddit.uk -4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

language is fluid and spelling is interpretive

Said every dipshit American that can't spell in their own native language 😂

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Language is fluid, but standardised spellings are helpful for clarity and ease of reading.

[–] GiveMemes@jlai.lu 6 points 1 month ago

Anybody who's every read a document written prior to the eighteenth century will tell you that people had a pretty "interpretive" way of spelling back in the day lol.

[–] Mr_Blott@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 points 1 month ago

The hallmark of a truly sophisticated language is the ability to express complex thoughts consistently and conscisely.

And without so many unnecessary U's.

[–] Alexstarfire 2 points 1 month ago

Fuck you, Kris.

[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah it's totally only an American thing 🙄

[–] affiliate 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

i hope i never have to write beruacracy in an academic context

[–] Alexstarfire 4 points 1 month ago

I can tell.

[–] Stovetop 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Conventions of English be damned, I spell it defiantly.

[–] Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

You sure do.

[–] socsa@piefed.social 11 points 1 month ago

Me, writing an entire sentence describing process, rules and hierarchy within an organization so that I don't have to try to spell the single word which describes this concept:

[–] callouscomic@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago

Definitively definite defined definition.

[–] unnamedau@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

this is why i'm enjoying learning steno, if i forget how to spell a word i can usually just sound it out :^)

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is still a thing? Where? Why?

[–] unnamedau@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

steno's not just court, it's still the easiest way to do live tv captioning and CART and such
there's also still a big hobbyist group around it, plover and hobbyist stenoboards have made it pretty easy to get into from that angle instead

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Live tv captioning is a thing? Tho i get the hobbyist thing, just didn't think of that.

[–] unnamedau@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

yep! think news broadcasts and such, certain places have requirements on how much of live tv is captioned and to what accuracy to be accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

Cool to know. Would've absolutely not thought there's still a need of steno at all. Haven't consumed any TV in the last 3 decades, so i might be really off the pulse of time :-)

[–] frigidaphelion 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I always fuck up guarantee, I tend to spell it "guerantee".

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 month ago

garant-y

ping

[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

I always remember the phrase, "If you spell definitely with an 'a' you're definitely an asshole". Harsh, but it stuck in my head really well.

[–] BanjoShepard 3 points 1 month ago

Assuming the error is with accidentally writing defiantly in lieu of definitely, I used to tell myself "There is definitely not an a in definitely."

[–] Earflap@reddthat.com 1 points 1 month ago

Necessary and necessarily for me. Can't spell 'em to save my life.

[–] Reddfugee42 1 points 1 month ago

De-finite-ly

[–] bulwark 1 points 1 month ago

I defiantly agree that you need a doctorate degree to type that word.