Re: "euclidian" or "euclidean"

From: Mike Lyle (mike_lyle_uk_at_yahoo.co.uk)
Date: 07/15/04 

Date: 15 Jul 2004 06:44:09 -0700

trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote in message news:<1ggxx7q.88t1rq1ao67f8N%trio@euronet.nl>...
> Alex <alexloeschediesmalk@face.cs.uni-sbloeschedies.de> wrote:
>
> > What is more correct: "euclidian" or "euclidean"?
>
> Merriam-Webster, 11th ed., shows "Euclidean" as the main entry and
> "Euclidian" as a variant, marked by the word "also."
[...]
> > In general, there are a lot of words with minor spelling differences.
> > What is the most authoritative and complete source one can find on the
> > internet to consult for explanation?

[...]

> Sometimes a dictionary will have an illuminating explanation for why a
> particular prefix or suffix came about. In this case, though,
> Merriam-Webster doesn't have a lot to say about -ean except that it
> comes from -an, as does -ian.

For an explanation one must usually go back to the original in these
cases; though in English we regularly follow the practice of the Latin
authors rather than the Greek ones, even for Greek names.

'Euclidean' is better than 'Euclidian' because the Greek name is
_EukleidEs_ leading to _Eukleideios_ in Gk and _Euclideus_ in L.

In contrast, we have 'Boeotian' from _BoiOtios_, in turn from
_BoiOtia_; and 'Tiberian' from _Tiberius_.

AFAIK, diphthong _ai_ tends to 'i' in our formations: _AthEnai_ leads
us, via Latin, to 'Athenian' from Gk _AthEnaios_. But it isn't really
as easy to construct the words for oneself as I may be making it seem:
we have, e.g., 'Theban' from _ThEbai_, rather than the *'Thebian' we
might have expected from _ThEbaios_.

'Caesar' doesn't help at all: we usually, I think, write 'Caesarean',
from L _Caesareus_; but it's quite regular to use 'Caesarian' from
_Caesarianus_, and it may even be better, since this last is the usual
prose word.

I probably don't need to mention that these trifling details do
occasionally matter, however slightly, not just for elegance and
cultural continuity, but because they potentially affect meaning. (Not
that I can think of an example in the case of names.)

Mike.

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