'Irregardless' Can Be 'Ir'- itating by Rob Kyff on Creators.com

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'Irregardless' Can Be 'Ir'- itating

Q: The Oxford English Dictionary listing for the word "irregardless" cites the meaning as "regardless." I recollected that the prefix "ir-" negated/reversed the meaning of the word. I'm confused about this. Please advise. — M. Cameron, Wethersfield, Conn.

A: Your question raises two issues. First, is "irregardless" even a word? Second, can the prefix "ir-" sometimes intensify rather than negate a word's meaning?

The answers are "maybe" and "yes," respectively.

"Irregardless," a blend of the synonyms "irrespective" and "regardless," first appeared as a dialectical term in western Indiana during the early 1900s.

Since then, usage authorities have ferociously condemned "irregardless" as a "barbarism," a "nonword," a "blunder" and a "Hoosier hooliganism" — OK, I made that last one up. Despite these outcries, "irregardless" is common in spoken English, and it even appears occasionally in print.

Should you ever use "irregardless"? Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary offers the best advice: "Its reputation has not improved over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use 'regardless' instead."

As for the prefix "ir-," it's one of several prefixes, such as "in-," "im-," "un-" and "dis-," that sometimes intensifies or specifies rather than negates a word's meaning.

"Ir-" can be a variant of the prefix "in-," meaning "in," "into" or "within." "Irrigate," for instance, derives from the Latin "in rigate" (to flood into), while "irrupt," meaning "to break or burst in," comes from the Latin "in rumpere" (to break in).

So "irregardless" joins the ranks of other "unantonyms," such as "inflammable," "inhabitable," "unravel" and "unloosen," which mean the same thing as "flammable," "habitable," "ravel" and "loosen," respectively.

Q: I heard this from a technician explaining how long a procedure would take: "It won't be a minute." But I would ask, "If it won't be a minute, how long WILL it be?" — Bruce Powell, Canton, Conn.

A: Good point.

What the speaker means, of course, is that it won't take as long as a minute. But regarded literally, the phrase could mean any length of time other than a minute — a second, an hour or a day.

I once told my then 4-year-old daughter, "Your friend will be here any minute," and she replied, "You mean ANY minute? Today? Tomorrow?"

Sometimes it takes a child — or a perceptive adult from Canton, Conn. — to point out the delightfully illogical idioms of English.

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.