Re: Petascale computing

[Stephen Leake <stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org>]

Adam Beneschan <adam@irvine.com> writes:

> On Wednesday, April 25, 2012 5:06:22 AM UTC-7, Stephen Leake wrote:
>> Jerry writes:
>> 
>> > incite |inˈsīt|
>> > verb [ with obj. ]
>> > encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behavior).
>> > • urge or persuade (someone) to act in a violent or unlawful way.
>> 
>> What dictionary is that from?
>> 
>> OED (http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93523?redirectedFrom=incite#eid)
>> 
>> says:
>> 
>>  a. trans. To urge or spur on; to stir up, animate, instigate, stimulate. Const. to do something; to or unto some action.
>> 
>> 
>> ie _any_ action, not just negative ones. None of the OED definitions
>> give negative connotations.
>
> In Merriam-Webster Online, none of the definitions say that the verb
> has negative connotations, but all of the examples do. The same seems
> to hold everywhere else I've looked (e.g. Wiktionary). So I suspect
> that, regardless of the definition, in practice the word just isn't
> used except with negative connotations. If someone can find an example
> from literature (preferably from the last couple centuries) where
> "incite" is used in a more positive way, it might be helpful.

OED examples:

1483 Caxton tr. Caton A viij, For to doo thys right canon admonesteth
and inciteth us.

1490 Caxton tr. Eneydos Contents 7 How Eneas encyted the patrons &
maystres of his shyppes for to departe.

?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) i. xi. 161
The firste mocions that incyteth vs to synne.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xi. 19 He incited all men vnto
bountifull contribution.

1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. 9 a, The rather to incite him vppe vnto
their ayde, [he] shewed the exceeding valour of their women.

1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. vii. 221 The Pope incited
the King of Spain to make war against the Republick.

1715 Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. iv. 499 These Mars incites, and those
Minerva fires.

1812 G. Chalmers Hist. View Domest. Econ. Great Brit. & Ireland 423
Manufactures were incited, and pushed forward, by every sort of
encouragement.

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 433 Each of us was urging and
inciting the other to put the question.

1880 E. White Certainty in Relig. 24 A certainty, and an overflowing
gladness in the heart, which are capable of inciting to heroic deeds.

Only a couple of these are negative.

They are all rather old, so more current references might all be
negative. That is one failing of the OED; it's fun to see the really old
references, but it doesn't say much about the current usage.

-- 
-- Stephe