Mark J. Reed wrote:
> I notice that Webster's and the AHD (I have no OED atm) both list
> "deduce" as a secondary meaning of "deduct". Is that a back-formation
> from the shared derivative form "deduction", or a shared history as
> alternate forms of the same word? Has that meaning existed for a
> while, or is it a recent development?
>
Never heard of such a usage. Are examples given? Maybe it's Washington DC
committee-speak :-(((
"*****They will deduce $10 from your paycheck"
"*****Sherlock deducted that Moriarty was the culprit"
nonononononononono
"That's the way the language crumbles"