<<The whole fascinating debate has highlighted to me the fact that 'words'
as such are part of an organic and living method of communication. Whatever 'language' is being used these 'words' develop with time and take on new meanings alongside the old.>> Style manuals produced at the same time also differ, possibly depending on the publication that the piece will appear in. For instance, the NY Times Manual of Style and Usage says of compound words, <In general , a compound that would be hard to decipher at a glance should be hyphenated rather than solid. To avoid incongruity, a compound noun that is ordinarily solid should be separated when the first part is modified by an adjective: "businessman" for example becomes "small-business man",; "Sailmaker" becomes "racing-sail maker"; schoolteacher becomes public-school teacher. When a compound modifier is formed by an adjective before a noun it is usually hyphenated; "They wore well-tailored gray suits." But omit the hyphen when the phrase follows what it modifies.; "The suits were well tailored"> So "lacemaker" becomes "needle-lace maker"? She was a maker of needle lace, or she was a maker of needlelace? The Chicago Manual of Style deals with the issue exhaustively, in sections 6.32 onward, but setting out a principle that, "For some years now, the trend in spelling compound words has been away from the use of hyphens. There seems to be a tendency to spell compounds solid as soon as acceptance warrants their being considered permanent compounds, and otherwise to spell them open. This is a tend, not a rule, but it is sometimes helpful, when deciding how to spell some new combination, to remember that the trend exists. But later it says you should hyphenate if there is any chance of ambiguity, as in a "fast sailing ship" which should be hypenated to "fast-sailing ship" if it is a ship that is currently sailing fast, versus "fast sailing ship" if it is a sailing ship that is capable of sailing fast". So, it would appear that ambiguity resulting from placement in a sentence might require a hyphen to explain the meaning of a term. Also, has the time come when lacemaker or lacemaking has gained acceptance? Or has the time of their acceptance passed? Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
