What is the difference between ‘negligent’ and ‘negligible’? (D. Shakunthala, Madurai)
The two words have very different meanings. When you say that someone is ‘negligent’, what you are suggesting is that he is a careless individual. This carelessness is not occasional, but habitual. He does not give enough attention to the things or the people that he is responsible for; and because of his indifference to the task at hand, accidents happen – people may get hurt or even die. A parent who is negligent of his child does not take good care of the little one; he is irresponsible, and remains unconcerned about the child’s welfare.
The term ‘negligence’ is frequently used in the legal profession; a person who doesn’t take care of his children can be arrested for criminal negligence.
The lawyer argued that Satish had been negligent in not reporting the accident to the police.
Many people in our country are guilty of negligent driving.
Something that is ‘negligible’ is not at all important; it is something that can be easily ignored. For example, when you say that the raise in your salary was negligible, what you are suggesting is that it was minimal. In other words, the raise was insignificant.
The damage done to his property by the storm is negligible.
According to the baker, the fat content in the cake is negligible.
As for the pronunciation of the two words, the first syllable in both rhyme with ‘leg’, ‘peg’ and ‘beg’, while the ‘ig’ in the second, sounds like the ‘idge’ in ‘bridge’, ‘ridge’ and ‘fridge’. The words are pronounced ‘NEG-li-jent’ and ‘NEG-li-je-bl’.
Is it okay to say ‘many a’ instead of ‘many’? (S. Harish, Hyderabad)
Yes, it is. ‘Many a’ and ‘many’ have more or less the same meaning. Many people would consider ‘many a’ rather literary; it is mostly found in formal styles of writing. Some would even argue that it is old fashioned. Whatever be the case, the expression ‘many a’ is grammatically acceptable. In terms of grammar, ‘many a’ is always followed by a singular noun – while ‘many’ is always followed by a plural noun.
Many a student/Many students decided to boycott the event.
Maya was late for class many a time/many times.
In terms of meaning, there is no difference between ‘many’ and ‘many a’. Like ‘many’, the expression ‘many a’ suggests a large number of things or people.
What is the meaning of ‘photoholic’? (K.V. Jyothi, Vellore)
If an ‘alcoholic’ is someone who loves to consume alcohol, and a ‘workaholic’ is someone who is addicted to work, then a ‘photoholic’ should be someone who loves photographs – in this case, he is someone who loves to take photographs. An over-enthusiastic photographer is sometimes referred to as a ‘photoholic’. The use of the suffix ‘holic’ suggests that the individual is excessively fond of taking photographs. Thanks to the cellphone, some of us have become photoholics. Over the years, ‘holic’ has been added to a number of words to give us new nouns – this suffix is mostly added to show disapproval. Here are a few examples: chocoholic (someone who loves or is addicted to chocolate), foodaholic, travelholic, webaholic, etc.
**********************************
“Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.” George Bernard Shaw
upendrankye@gmail.com
