Just spotted a new uniquity tag, for words that express uniqueness. While I don't object to the idea of the tag, I'm puzzled by its name, which appears to be a rare, possibly obsolete variant of uniqueness. Should it be changed or syn-linked to the more common term? Or is there some reason to expect that people will use it more as currently spelled?
7
-
3Argh...just say it's not a word...because it's not. Retag all to uniqueness and be done with it.– MitchMar 30, 2014 at 2:57
-
It's a uniquely silly tag.– Mari-Lou AMar 30, 2014 at 7:32
-
1I would read ‘uniquity’ as [ˌʌnˈɪkwɪti], i.e., as a somewhat mis-prefixed alternative form of iniquity, perhaps a portmanteau of iniquity and unequal. It would not have occurred to me, if I’d just seen the tag, that it actually referred to uniqueness.– Janus Bahs JacquetMar 30, 2014 at 17:53
-
3@JanusBahsJacquet You will find that uniquity is listed in the OED as meaning the same as uniqueness, and to have been around since the 18th century. I like to think uniquity has certain contrasts with ubiquity, stretching matters though that may be.– tchrist ModMar 31, 2014 at 4:18
-
@tchrist Yes, noticed the similarity to ubiquity, but also the resemblance to a malapropism for iniquity. Glad this caught your attention.– Bradd SzonyeMar 31, 2014 at 7:22
-
@tchrist It's also in MW. Makes me think of Uniqua.– Elliott FrischApr 4, 2014 at 18:55
-
@tchrist Yeah I like that. Presuming that, in enough people's minds, it suggests, and stands in contrast to, ubiquity - then it seems like a cool word to have in the repertoire.– HalApr 9, 2014 at 20:04
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
We should not have a uniquity. I'm looking at the current questions tagged with it and am not seeing anything useful in grouping those questions together. Of the current 7 questions:
- 5 questions are asking for a word that means something similar to "unique"
- 1 question is asking about words that have unique meanings
- 1 question seems completely unrelated
Questions about words that mean X should not be placed in x. This leaves Is there a term for words that have a single meaning or are only used in a single context? as the only relevant question and a tag with only one question in it is kind of useless.
I vote we remove the tag entirely.
-
1It looks like tchrist tagged all of the posts very recently; hopefully he can drop in and explain the tag. Mar 29, 2014 at 21:37
it could be incorrect to consider the word Uniquity to be redundant/obsolete as it's usage is not unlike well versed. uniquity is more the disposition of "uniqueness" than "uniqueness" itself; it is also the "degree" or "grade" of "uniqueness." moreover, it is the set of properties purported by "uniqueness." last but not least, it is the "quality" of "uniqueness."
answered Mar 30, 2014 at 19:46
-
I don't think you can have a quality of uniqueness as 'one of a kind' cannot have a modifier. Something can't be more 'one of a kind' than another. Apr 2, 2014 at 20:55
-
Hmm. I would agree that in an abstract sense one thing cannot be more 'one of a kind' than another thing. However, in a concrete, real-world sense, I don't believe that uniqueness (or uniquity) is binary. Most objects are composed of many characteristics that are evaluated in many contexts, so you might say that "Lady Gaga is a more unique performer than Brittany Spears." This is an opinion, but it is still a valid use of the adjective.– badpandaApr 4, 2014 at 5:29
-
In the case of an algorithm that enumerates guaranteed-unique possibilities, would it be reasonable to refer to its disposition-for-uniqueness? Mar 15, 2017 at 2:59