Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 13:18:01 -0500

From: Gregory {Greg} Downing downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU

Subject: Re: Deletia (Was Re: Dilbert for WOTY?)



At 10:05 AM 1/2/98 -0800, you wrote:

i wondered about "deletia" myself, especially about the presence of the

"i". i would have expected "deleta" = "things deleted" neuter plural

participle of "deleo" or "delita" the perf. part. = "things having been

deleted" .



Allen

maberry[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]u.washington.edu





I figure it's maybe humorous, pendatry-joshing, deliberately fractured

Latin. Others have written me offlist in the last little bit to say they

themselves have seen deletia, and used it. Maybe it's a what one would

prescriptivistically term a deleterious (delet-hilarious?) usage....



Delenda is an old-fashioned editorial term (cp. the better known "addenda").



Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu