From: utzoo!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson Newsgroups: net.nlang Title: Re: Surprising words Article-I.D.: dcdwest.169 Posted: Fri Feb 11 15:55:04 1983 Received: Sun Feb 13 02:07:04 1983 References: uw-beave.338 I think that "comprise" has aquired its new meaning through confusion with "compose", since the sentence: "The computer comprises a processor, memory, and peripherals." is okay by me. The confusion stems, in my opinion, from a desire to sound learned. I see this tendency in myself and in others who use "reticent" when they mean "reluctant". By the way, I like these natural language jaunts, but I find it difficult to avoid sounding prescriptive, both here and in my work with others. Any suggestions ? Peter Benson ITTDCD !decvax!ittvax!dcdwest