| 词组 | deduce, deduct |
| 释义 | deduce, deduct Deduce and deduct formerly had a greater number of meanings than they do now. Some of the meanings, including the most common of today's senses, were shared by both words. Deduce once meant "subtract, deduct," and deduct meant "infer, deduce," but according to the OED both of these senses are now obsolete. It seems odd, then, that several modern usage books advise you not to get the two words confused. What we have found is that, despite the OED, deduct is still occasionally used to mean "infer, deduce." To our way of thinking, such use shows that this sense is not obsolete after all, though it may, of course, be less common than formerly: • "... leave the deducting to the cops " —Gypsy Rose Lee, The G-String Murders, 1941 • ... its earlier use is deducted from the writings of later commentators —Richard Southern, The Seven Ages of the Theatre, 1964 • ... some anthropologists deduct that the ability to make tools ... did not depend upon an enlargement of the brain —Science News Letter, 17 Apr. 1965 Why has the "infer" sense remained with deduct when it is now much more commonly associated with deduce? Probably because of the familiar noun deduction, which can refer to the action or result of either verb but is closer in spelling to deduct. When someone, by inferring something, is making a deduction, it doesn't sound illogical to say that he is deducting, since such a verb does exist. Without the benefit of similar reinforcement, the "subtract" sense of deduce has not survived. While the context will usually make your intention clear if you use deduct to refer to an operation of the mind, you might reasonably choose to avoid even the appearance of confusion and use deduce for that meaning. |
| 随便看 |
英语用法大全包含2888条英语用法指南，基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。