According to my dictionary, octogenarian derives from the Latin word for "eighty": octoginta; septuagenarian comes from the Latin septuaginta ("seventy"); sexagenarian from the Latin sexaginta ("sixty"), and so on. So it seems that the numerical prefix used is based on the one that is used with the Latin cardinal number. As far as I can tell from a quick Google and Google Book search, octuagenarian is used mainly by Italians writing in English. I don't think it's standard among native speakers, not even the pedantic ones.
You're totally right, rolig (and in fact, I learned octogenarian "thanks" to my google search for octuagenarian and my discovery that only Italians seem to use it). After that, I found both words in Latin; so I proposed octuagenarian here as a possible "justifiably pedantic" alternative spelling.
I don't think I have ever seen "noöne"; Americans usually write this as two words ("no one"), Brits as a hyphenated word ("no-one"). I don't what Canadians, Australians, Kiwis, and South Africans do.
Prolagus commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
What about octuagenarian?
October 13, 2008
shevek commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
Wouldn't the etymological spelling be octogenarian? (from the Latin octo)
October 13, 2008
Prolagus commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
Both octogenarius and octuagenarius are used in Latin.
October 13, 2008
rolig commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
According to my dictionary, octogenarian derives from the Latin word for "eighty": octoginta; septuagenarian comes from the Latin septuaginta ("seventy"); sexagenarian from the Latin sexaginta ("sixty"), and so on. So it seems that the numerical prefix used is based on the one that is used with the Latin cardinal number. As far as I can tell from a quick Google and Google Book search, octuagenarian is used mainly by Italians writing in English. I don't think it's standard among native speakers, not even the pedantic ones.
October 13, 2008
Prolagus commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
You're totally right, rolig (and in fact, I learned octogenarian "thanks" to my google search for octuagenarian and my discovery that only Italians seem to use it). After that, I found both words in Latin; so I proposed octuagenarian here as a possible "justifiably pedantic" alternative spelling.
(by the way, does anyone really use noöne?)
October 13, 2008
rolig commented on the list justifiably-pedantic-spellings
I don't think I have ever seen "noöne"; Americans usually write this as two words ("no one"), Brits as a hyphenated word ("no-one"). I don't what Canadians, Australians, Kiwis, and South Africans do.
October 14, 2008