AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question Why, I wonder did I receive a message from allexperts.org saying that you couldn't answer my question when in fact you did thoroughly answer it. I can find no way to publicly thank you nor can I find a way to connect to my question and your answer on the allexperts site so that I may properly thank you for your efforts and expertise. I will check the website again tomorrow. Perhaps, you can give me directions how I may find the path to providing an evaluation. Thank you.
Answer David:
There are a number of options we [as experts] can use, when we get questions. I could have simply chosen "Answer this question" and then the answer box would open and I would type my answer. I can also reject questions for about 10 different reasons. For instance, some questions are clearly "pranks." A couple of days ago, I received a "Grammar and Writing" question from a 16-year-old girl, supposedly in New Zealand. She wanted to know how she could get the boy who got her pregnant to marry her! I just clicked "Reject this question."
I chose to "Reject your question" even though I gave you an answer, because (1) I did not feel that my answer was sufficient; it did not meet my usual high standard of providing a complete answer, and (2) I didn't want to put you on the spot in having to evaluate such an incomplete answer.
However, I did spent about an hour trying to find "-emy" as a suffix [the OED does not recognize it as a "legitimate suffix"] AND in trying to figure out a way to send you The Oxford English Dictionary etymology for "alchemy," that would have included the Greek letters. I wanted to send you the information, even though the Greek words/letters would not show up. That's why I recommended that you consult the print version of the dictionary, if you don't have online access to it. I think that you'll find that ONE derivation to be "intriguing." The other words [academy, blasphemy, etc.] had nothing of value in their derivations.
I will try to figure out a way to send you the Greek letters, if I can scan the print version and save it as a jpeg photo. I believe I will be able to upload it to my answer to you . . . . but that's a long shot. [I'm NOT an expert in computer manipulations.]
This answer, however, you CAN evaluate, but please be gentle with me. I do feel that I have given you a sufficient explanation for "-emy," and that is because I could not find one.
You are obviously a very intelligent person and you have posed a very obscure, but fascinating, dilemma. I just wish I were a Greek language expert, so that I could have sent you a more complete explanation.
Some questions just cannot be answered. I was once very poorly rated by a gentleman in Italy, who faulted me because he thought it was my personal responsibility to change the name of the government's "Securities and Exchange Commission" to "INsecurities and Exchange Commission."
I tried to explain to him that I did not control the U. S. government, but he maintained that I SHOULD CONTROL the U. S. government.
You wouldn't believe some of the questions I have had.
If I am able to copy the Greek and upload it to you, I will do so tomorrow. There's another option: Send me your e-mail address and I'll send you the information in an attachment, as a Word document. It still doesn't show the Greek very clearly, but, perhaps, you'll be able to make out the words. If you have knowledge of ancient Greek, you'll understand the intricacy of the suffix in question.
