--
------------------------------
—Usage note All words except *biennial* referring to periods of time and
prefixed by bi- <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bi->1 are
potentially ambiguous. Since bi- can be taken to mean either "twice each" or
"every two," a word like *biweekly* can be understood as "twice each week"
or "every two weeks." To avoid confusion, it is better to use the prefix
semi- <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=semi-> to mean "twice each"
(*semiannual; semimonthly; semiweekly*) or the phrase *twice a* or *twice
each *(*twice a month; twice a week; twice each year*), and for the other
sense to use the phrase *every two* (*every two months; every two weeks;
every two years*).
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, (c) Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dan
On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 4:30 PM, Charlie Chambers <cchamber@embarqmail.com>
wrote:
> Actually, when we were residents, that argument came up. One of the
> residents researched the phrase and found that biweekly can mean either
> every two weeks or twice weekly. For that reason, our division had to make
> changes to NST ordering forms to avoid the confusion.
> As to the order of inflammable vs. flammable. No meaning behind the order..
>
> On Jun 23, 2008, at 12:19 PM, R. Daniel Braun wrote:
>
> No controversy over Biweekly. It means every 2 weeks. Semiweekly is twice a
> week.
>
> Dan
>
> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:58 PM, Charlie Chambers <
> cchamber@embarqmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Funny, how certain words and phrases become "pet peeves" for doctors.
>> Here's the list of words/phrases from residency that was sure to attract
>> attention.
>> 1. Irregardless
>> 2. Inflammable vs. flammable.
>> 3. Bi-weekly
>> 4. Incidental
>> 5. Failed vs. unsuccessful
>> 6. Fetal distress vs. Nonreassuring
>> 7. Seized vs. convulsed.
>>
>> The list goes on.
>>
>> On Jun 23, 2008, at 9:52 AM, DoctorJoe@aol.com wrote:
>>
>> In a message dated 6/23/08 10:40:28 AM, rd.braun@gmail.com writes:
>>
>> As the dictionary says it is an ERRONEOUS word.
>>
>> • an erroneous redundancy for regardless.
>> http://www.iolani.honolulu.hi.us/Keables/KeablesGuide/PartThree/Letters/I.htm
>> • regardless; a combination of irrespective and regardless
>> sometimes used humorously
>> wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
>> • Irregardless is a term that has caused controversy since it
>> first appeared in the early twentieth century. It is generally listed in
>> dictionaries as "non-standard".
>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless
>>
>> Sounds like fun to me.
>>
>> Joe P.
>>
>> ****************************************************************************
>> Charlie Chambers
>> Hood River, OR
>> cchamber@alumni.rice.edu
>>
>> "Almost anything you do will seem insignificant but it is very important
>> that you do it....You must be the change you wish to see in the world"
>> -- Mahatma Ghandi.
>>
>> *******************************************************************************
>>
>>
>
> --
> R. Daniel Braun, MD FACOG(L) ABMP CMTh
> Professor Emeritus
> Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology
> Indiana U. School of Medicine
>
> R. Daniel Braun
>
> "Science without Religion is LAME; Religion without Science is BLIND"
> Einstein 1941
>
> ****************************************************************************
> Charlie Chambers
> Hood River, OR
> cchamber@alumni.rice.edu
>
> "... all good things, trout as well as eternal salvation,
> come by grace and grace comes by art
> and art does not come easy."
> -Norman Maclean
>
> ******************************************************************************
>
>
--
R. Daniel Braun, MD FACOG(L) ABMP CMTh
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Indiana U. School of Medicine
R. Daniel Braun
"Science without Religion is LAME; Religion without Science is BLIND"
Einstein 1941
