From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,3112dc3cfb6b9f2 X-Google-NewGroupId: yes X-Google-Attributes: gida07f3367d7,domainid0,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,UTF8 Received: by 10.68.125.233 with SMTP id mt9mr5711725pbb.5.1335438074946; Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:01:14 -0700 (PDT) Path: r9ni100362pbh.0!nntp.google.com!news2.google.com!npeer03.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!post02.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.flashnewsgroups.com-b7.4zTQh5tI3A!not-for-mail From: Stephen Leake Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Petascale computing References: <15030086.3961.1335171026204.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@vbbfk16> <0071b200-29e8-4cb5-8c03-fd2f86f250e1@f37g2000yqc.googlegroups.com> <82mx60f22p.fsf@stephe-leake.org> <20009632.723.1335371407556.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@ynff28> Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:01:11 -0400 Message-ID: <82obqeeozs.fsf@stephe-leake.org> User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.2 (windows-nt) Cancel-Lock: sha1:orRszk/SHeFjW8ZJ6+sZ9cJwezQ= MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Complaints-To: abuse@flashnewsgroups.com Organization: FlashNewsgroups.com X-Trace: ba2a94f992afae029e66123567 X-Received-Bytes: 3566 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Date: 2012-04-26T07:01:11-04:00 List-Id: Adam Beneschan 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