Re: NATLANG: icelandic, finnish, english
| From: | Muke Tever <hotblack@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, December 7, 2004, 3:54 |
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On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 10:14:52 +0000, Ian Spackman <ianspackman@...> wrote:
>> > A lot of older English texts with otherwise
>> > apparently modern spelling spell 'diverse'
>> > as 'divers'. When did the final -e become usual?
>>
>> I think it's still spelled as /divers/ in British
>> English. /diverse/ has pretty much always been the
>> American standard.
>
> 'Divers' and 'diverse' are two different words; the former is obsolescent,
> and means roughly 'several'.
Might be a bit strong to call them two different words... historically it
seems more to be a single lexeme that has specialized in meaning along its two
different spellings.
Actually, "diverse" can usually replace "divers" with little or no change in
actual meaning, while "divers" can't always replace divers: I don't think you
can say "The Germans have a divers culture" (however diverse it may actually
be).
*Muke!
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