Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 February 12

= February 12 =

Does word evolution bias in favor of homonyms?
Is it known whether words tend to evolve into homonyms more often than coincidence alone would explain -- i.e. are "drawn" toward the pronunciation and spelling of existing words? If so, does the effect increase when the meanings happen to be similar enough that the real etymology of one might be a folk etymology of the other, e.g. mean (mediocre) vs. mean (statistical average)? Neon Merlin  05:08, 12 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Yes, sound merger and the weakening and loss of unstressed vowels, lenis consonants, and unstressed syllables tends to make many words "fall together". This is a mechanical process, not analogical.  That is, it is attributed to the ease of weakened pronunciation, not an affinity between meanings.  Consider "Le ver vert vers le verre vert" which has five identically pronounced words with silent endings which means "The worm turns towards the green glass."  This tendency is counteracted by lengthening words Lat. cor > Spa. corazón, Lat. fons > French fontaine; or by replacing forms canis > perro, gallus > coq, equus > caballo/cheval where the original Latin terms had become so attenuated as to become single vowels or easily confused with other forms (cat and rooster, gattus/gallus, had become homonyms in most dialects of the Provençal languages). μηδείς (talk) 17:23, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

"salted caramel"?
What does the "salted" mean in "salted caramel"? There's no salt in it, so, why not call it "molten caramel" instead? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.159.164.102 (talk) 17:56, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Actually there is salt in salted caramel, either through the use of salted butter, or through added salt. If you look up recipes, you'll see this (see here or here for example). The salt helps to offset the overwhelming sweetness of the sugar which forms the basis of the caramel. --Xuxl (talk) 18:08, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Double the poison, double the fun. :)  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  19:10, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
 * The is no salt in caramel, but there is salt in salted caramel: the taste is quite distinct. Wymspen (talk) 01:05, 13 February 2018 (UTC)