GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW) | ||||||
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21:28 Mar 17, 2019 |
English language (monolingual) [PRO] Medical - Medical (general) / mammals | |||||
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| Selected response from: Charles Davis Spain Local time: 17:12 | ||||
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Discussion entries: 4 | |
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estrum vs estrus vs oestrus Mixed use in the same research paper, paragraph and especially line is quite bad style. Explanation: Mixed use, of various variants of the same Latin/Greek-derived word, in the same research paper, paragraph and especially line is quite bad style. Mixed use in the same research paper is not that bad. Same paragraph and especially line are quite bad. Mixing with the synonym "heat" should be ok. |
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estrum be consistent: preferably estrus (AmE) or oestrus (BrE) Explanation: All three of these variants is correct, and so is "oestrum", but it is certainly not good practice to change from one to another in the same text for no good reason. One should be chosen and used consistently. First, there is a question of European (British/Irish) versus American spelling, as with many medical terms. "Oestrus" is the former and "estrus" is the latter. Second, "estrus/oestrus" is more common than "estrum/oestrum", in my experience (and a Google search seems to confirm this), so I would recommend using the -us form rather than then -um form. So if you are writing for a British publication or one aimed at British readers, I recommend using "oestrus" consistently, and conversely "estrus" if the target is American. The only exceptions will be in quotations, where the form used in the text being quoted should be used, even if this is different from the form you yourself are using. I hope this clarifies things. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2019-03-17 22:45:44 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Sorry: it should of course be "All three of these variants are correct"! -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2019-03-17 22:51:21 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Perhaps I should add that although in general repetition tends to be avoided in English, this does not apply to scientific papers, where repeating the same term frequently is perfectly acceptable. Accuracy and consistency are much more important than avoiding repetition. And arbitrary variations of spelling are inherently bad practice. If you use "estrus" in some places and "estrum" in others, readers will wonder why. |
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