exceptable and addable

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merry 07

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Hey, guys,

I got a question about ''exceptable'' and ''addable'' if they are usable since they are not found in the dictionary.

please. shed a light on the confusion holding me back from using them.

Thank you.
 
If they are not in the dictionary they don't exist.

Find alternatives.

Rover
 
Are sure about the spelling: maybe you mean expectable.
Addable is good.
Use a better dictionary!
 
chester_100 said:
Addable is good.
Use a better dictionary!
Click to expand...

How much better? I'm using The New Oxford English Dictionary and 'addable' is not in there. I know the word exists - well, actually, I'll confess and say I wasn't totally sure whether the word existed until I checked. Even so, can you give an example of its use? I only ever see 'can be added' (and then very rarely) in the financial statements I proofread.

Oh, and another possibility for 'exceptable': 'acceptable'
 
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bertietheblue said:
How much better? I'm using The New Oxford English Dictionary and 'addable' is not in there. I know the word exists - well, actually, I'll confess and say I wasn't totally sure whether the word existed until I checked. Even so, can you give an example of its use? I only ever see 'can be added' (and then very rarely) in the financial statements I proofread.

Oh, and another possibility for 'exceptable': 'acceptable'
Click to expand...

Why don't you try Merriam-Webster's dictionary or Encatra, the miracle.
Where I work, Oxford is only recommended for ...
Please Google it to find about 39,100 results.
Bye,
 
bertietheblue said:
How much better? I'm using The New Oxford English Dictionary and 'addable' is not in there.
Click to expand...
With all due respect, just because a word cannot be found in a dictionary, does it necessarily mean it cannot exist? ;-) Unfortunately I am not a native English speaker :cry: , but "addable" seems absolutely plausible to me. I did a search, and my initial thought proved to be right:

Merriam-Webster Dictionary : "addable "

Addable is also mentioned in TheFreeDictionary

I should stress that I'm not questioning your opinion. :) I only wanted to say that dictionaries are not the only sources; one can use his/her creativity.

bertietheblue said:
Even so, can you give an example of its use?
Click to expand...
How about "addable value(s)"? Granted, it doesn't sound too natural even to me, but I think it's acceptable.
 
bertietheblue said:
How much better? I'm using The New Oxford English Dictionary and 'addable' is not in there. I know the word exists - well, actually, I'll confess and say I wasn't totally sure whether the word existed until I checked. Even so, can you give an example of its use? I only ever see 'can be added' (and then very rarely) in the financial statements I proofread.

Oh, and another possibility for 'exceptable': 'acceptable'
Click to expand...

What about the 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary ?
Or their online version ?
(I didn't check, I don't have access to it, do you?)

If addable is to mean "which can be added" it is very easy to find examples:
1- "In order to be addable, two matrices must have the same number of columns and rows."
2 - "Be careful when adding series of real numbers, namely, if they do not converge they are not addable."
 
bertietheblue said:
I know the word exists - well, actually, I'll confess and say I wasn't totally sure whether the word existed until I checked.
Click to expand...

That's me, folks! There's no need to tell me the word exists when I acknowledged that it does in my first post. Yes, I looked at more than one dictionary online and indeed it was there. The point I was making was, it is very rarely used and a meagre 39,100 hits on google illustrate this.
 
Rover_KE said:
If they are not in the dictionary they don't exist.
Click to expand...
That might be good advice for learners, and a good rule of thumb for all of us. But it's not actually true.

Here's how dictionaries are made. Lexicographers go into the community and find out what words are being used. If the usage of a certain word passes their editorial criteria, it goes into the dictionary.
So, words must exist before they appear in a dictionary.

Also, the correct definition of "the dictionary" is problematic, as we've seen.
 
Raymott said:
That might be good advice for learners, and a good rule of thumb for all of us. But it's not actually true.

Here's how dictionaries are made. Lexicographers go into the community and find out what words are being used. If the usage of a certain word passes their editorial criteria, it goes into the dictionary.
So, words must exist before they appear in a dictionary.

Also, the correct definition of "the dictionary" is problematic, as we've seen.
Click to expand...

I imagine the time lag between a word first coming into usage and then entering the dictionary can sometimes be years. First, it has to come into usage, then it has to be accepted by the community within which it is used, then accepted by a wider community before it comes to the attention of the dictionary's compilers. There is then the process by which the word gets recognised as an acceptable neologism, and even after that, you will have to wait until the next edition of the dictionary before the word gets an entry.

To go back to 'addable': I think my comment that it is rarely used might be misleading in that it suggests it should be avoided. However, many words are rarely used but are no less usable; it is more the case that the context in which they are used is rare. I suggest that this is partly the case with 'addable', which I believe is scarcely used outside the field mathematics, and that is why neither Rover nor I immediately recognised it. But I also maintain that, even where it is used, you'd be more likely to rephrase, eg 'X can be added to Y' rather than 'X and Y are addable'.
 
Raymott said:
That might be good advice for learners, and a good rule of thumb for all of us. But it's not actually true.

Here's how dictionaries are made. Lexicographers go into the community and find out what words are being used. If the usage of a certain word passes their editorial criteria, it goes into the dictionary.
So, words must exist before they appear in a dictionary.

Also, the correct definition of "the dictionary" is problematic, as we've seen.
Click to expand...


That's a fair point well made, Raymott.

I stand corrected.

Rover:oops:
 
Addable can function as an adjective, intransitive verb, and verb. It's fine. I've heard it throughout my educational career, so it doesn't strike me as peculiar.

As for the word exceptable...do you mean, acceptable? I tried to decipher your intended meaning.
 
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