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