ABUSAGE

Etymology

First appeared in the 16th century as a general synonym of abuse, but fell into disuse after just a couple of centuries. The word re-emerged with a new grammar-specific sense after Eric Partridge published a book on grammar titled Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English (a pun on "use and abuse") in 1942.

Noun

abusage (countable and uncountable, plural abusages)

(obsolete) Abuse. [Attested from the mid 16th century until the mid 17th century.]

Improper or incorrect use of language. [First attested in the mid 20th century.]

Source: Wiktionary


A*bus"age, n.

Definition: Abuse. [Obs.] Whately (1634).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Menโ€™s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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