Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 August 19

= August 19 =

Opposite of dense?
What's a word to describe an object that is not dense? Density in the physical science sense that is. Like if I want to say that hydrogen is not dense, is there a word for that other than saying it's "light" or "not dense"? ScienceApe (talk) 03:12, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * "Rarefied"? -- AnonMoos (talk) 03:32, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Not rare-ified, I think &mdash; that implies the outcome of a process. It could be rare (see meaning 2 of etymology 2), but that usage is itself rare.
 * I don't think there is a specific one-word antonym to dense in the sense of having high mass per unit volume, if that's what ScienceApe means by "the physical science sense". However, sparse is a pretty reliable antonym to dense in a lot of other senses, some of which might be arguably part of physical science. --Trovatore (talk) 03:42, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * "Rarified" can clearly mean "having been subjected to rarefaction" (though it can also have other meanings -- none of them very closely and directly connected to the usual meaning of "rare", however)... AnonMoos (talk) 10:49, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
 * That was exactly my point &mdash; we don't want "having been subjected to rarefaction"; that's the outcome of a process, but no process is mentioned. --Trovatore (talk) 20:38, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
 * "Tenuous" might work, as "dense" and "tenuous" derive from the Latin words for "thick" and "thin" respectively. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:45, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * How about loose or airy? They aren't particularly close in meaning, I agree. Gabbe (talk) 06:00, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * I know it the rocket industry, vehicles fueled by hydrogen are sometimes called 'fluffy' ie not dense. Not the best term either, but there you go. 82.0.112.151 (talk) 07:08, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * 'Expanded'? Plasmic Physics (talk) 11:32, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * The opposite of a "dense packing" is a "sparse packing". I can't think of a particular word for "of low density", though Bluap (talk) 12:55, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * The usual term for "not dense" is the perhaps overly obvious "low-density." "Tenuous," "rare," and "rarified" also have this meaning, although it seems to me that those words really apply only to gases and liquids and not to solids.  "Light" can also mean this and has the advantage that it can also apply to solids.  John M Baker (talk) 02:37, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * "Low-density" is probably the only precise choice, but the OP asked for "a word", not two words. I think you're right that "rare" applies only to gases.  "Tenuous" isn't quite right, in spite of etymology (has the sense of something being weak, something that might not hold).  "Rarefied", as I said, sounds as though something has been done to it, which is not part of the concept sought (though admittedly it might work, but only for gases).  "Rare" and "rarefied" also say nothing about mass density per se, which I think is what the OP was getting at.  "Light" is the opposite of "heavy", and while "heavy" can be used imprecisely to mean "dense", that's a somewhat casual usage.  And "sparse", which you didn't mention but which is probably the most reliable general antonym to "dense", isn't about mass.
 * So I think the bottom line is, sorry ScienceApe, there is no such word. --Trovatore (talk) 03:35, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Lets invent an etymologically correct word: antipycnal. Plasmic Physics (talk) 03:50, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Or perhaps: antipycnoic? Plasmic Physics (talk) 03:56, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Antipycnocious? Plasmic Physics (talk) 13:03, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * I would say that a hyphenated word is still a word. "Low-density" is recognized as a word by the OED and American Heritage, among others.  If you wish an unhyphenated word, the best seems to be "light."  OED definition 2a (for the adj.) is "Possessing little weight in proportion to bulk; of small specific gravity."  Definition 2b is "Applied to elements whose specific gravity (or atomic number) is relatively low."  So that seems to be our answer.  John M Baker (talk) 15:27, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Actually, now I notice that the OP for some reason specifically excluded "light." If he also doesn't like "low-density," then I think we're stuck.  There are several words (mostly obscure) that sort of mean this--the Oxford Historical Thesaurus mentions thin, subtile, airy, shire, rare, solute, intenuate, slender, tenuous, and ethereal, among others--but only "light" and "low-density" seem to have the precise desired meaning.  John M Baker (talk) 15:55, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I would describe hydrogen as "positively buoyant" Robinh (talk) 20:26, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * That is two words, the OP asked for one. Not that I'm saying that it is a legitimate word, but Google yields the word 'un-dense'. Plasmic Physics (talk) 21:17, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * That's doubleplusgood. --Trovatore (talk) 21:20, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Doesn't work. Just because something isn't dense doesn't necessarily mean it's the opposite. It could be in the middle somewhere. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:29, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * The practice of magnitude gradation is equally applicable to opposites, compare 'not very dense' with 'very antipycnal'. It depends. Plasmic Physics (talk) 00:11, 21 August 2013 (UTC)


 * l think of culinary contexts, where one might desire some mixture to not be sloppy but not be too dense either. There's a "just right" point.  If I'd made it too dense, and my ever-present critic piped up, he/she'd say "No, that's too dense.  You need it to be ....".  I can't imagine them saying anything other than "not so dense", or "not so thick" or something similar.   --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:14, 20 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Again, that's more than one word. Plasmic Physics (talk) 21:17, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * My point being that there is no one-word answer that would be used in such a circumstance. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:28, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

Diffuse! Mrgoodytwoshoes (talk) 21:26, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

Plattdeutsch nickname - original name
If somebody's ancestor in Northern Germany was called "Tietje", what was his formal name likely to have been? -- Orange Mike &#x007C;  Talk  17:59, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
 * German wikipedia has an article: []. It is also used as a female first name in Frisian/Dutch. 75.41.109.190 (talk) 18:09, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
 * So, it's short for Dietrich, then? Danke. (My querent is Plattdeutsch but I knew it also shows up in Frisian.) -- Orange Mike &#x007C;  Talk  21:26, 19 August 2013 (UTC)