Editor's Corner

Our “dis-” and “mis-” list continued from yesterday (courtesy of DailyWritingTips.com*):

Disconnect/Misconnect
To disconnect is to uncouple or unhook. To misconnect is to put together erroneously. (The shared root, connect, is from the Latin word connectere, “to join together.” That word’s root, in turn, is related to nexus, meaning “a link or bond.”)

Discount/Miscount
A discount is a markdown on a price. A miscount is a tabulation made in error. (The source of the root count is the Latin word computare, from which, of course, compute and computer are derived.)

Disinformation/Misinformation
Disinformation is a form or propaganda intended to cover up inconvenient facts and/or sway public opinion. Misinformation is a more neutral term referring merely to incorrect data. (The Latin root they share is formare, which means “to form or shape.”)

Disinterest/Uninterest
These seemingly indistinguishable words sharing the root word interest (from the Latin term interesse, meaning “to be between” or “to make a difference”) have a key difference of connotation: To be disinterested is to have no stake in something, to be impartial, and uninterested denotes the more basis sense of a lack of concern or investment in something.

Dislocate/Mislocate
To dislocate is to put out of place; to mislocate is to misplace, or lose. (Locate is from the Latin word locare, “to place,” and is related to locus, which refers to a site or center.)

*http://www.dailywritingtips.com/15-dis-words-and-their-relations/

Kara Church | Senior Technical Editor

Symitar, A Jack Henry Company

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123