Hear ye! Hear ye! The Word Court is now in session, the Honorable Robert S. Kyff presiding. Today, the court will hear two cases:

Disinterested v. Uninterested

The facts: Strictly, "disinterested" means "impartial, free from selfish motives," while "uninterested" means "not interested." A judge, for instance, should be "disinterested" (unbiased) but clearly not "uninterested" (not paying attention). Judge Kyff? . . . Judge Kyff?

In recent decades, however, more and more people have been using "disinterested" to mean "uninterested," e.g. "The students were disinterested in the teacher's lecture." This usage is especially common when the speaker or writer is trying to convey a sense of increasing or growing uninterest, e.g. "The students became more disinterested as the lecture progressed."

The decision: The court rules that the distinction between these words should be preserved. There's no other word that conveys the exact meaning of "disinterested." As word expert Bryan Garner points out, "A 'disinterested' observer is not merely 'impartial' but has nothing to gain from taking a stand on the issue in question."

The writer A. R. Orage argues even more vigorously for the preservation of "disinterested": "Whoever has understood the meaning of 'disinterestedness' is not far off understanding the goal of human culture." Well.

Comprise v. Compose

The facts: Strictly, "comprise" means "to include or be made up of," e.g. "New York City comprises five boroughs, while "compose" means "to constitute, make up," e.g. "Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island" compose New York City." Put simply, the whole comprises the parts, and the parts compose the whole.

However, an increasing number of speakers and writers now use "comprise" to mean "constitute, make up," e.g. "Five lakes comprise The Great Lakes." And "comprised of" is now often used instead of "comprise," e.g. "The index is comprised of 30 stocks" instead of "The index comprises 30 stocks."

The decision: The aforementioned uses of "comprise" and "comprised of" are now so widespread that it's pedantic to insist on the traditional use of these terms. The court rules that that it's acceptable to use "comprise" to mean "constitute" and to use "comprised of" to mean "comprise."

(Attorneys, please approach the bench. Between you and me, the whole darn "comprise" thing is just too confusing.)

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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