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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2019-10-19 22:47:26

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2714
Website

defiantly < definitely

In the entry for marsh pit was the following jewel:

I knew there would defiantly be a marsh pit but yet again another crowd surfer only hit me once.

There are lots of other exx. out there:

I am ready to start any time but I need to know defiantly if we are doing it

“Green coat? He was wearing a blue coat last night.” ¶ “No” Kitty replied, “It was defiantly green.” She was sure that it was green because […]

Defiantly too hot to cook, call Molino’s Italian Kitchen for a poolside delivery

She was almost certain she liked him. Whether her feelings went beyond that was defiantly too soon to tell.

Defiantly Not The Leader Of The Pack.

This one is surprisingly common: a number of vocabulary-correction sites deal with the mixup (e.g. here ).
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Conceivably it might be from (misspelled) “definately” metathesized and then perhaps spell-checked into “defiantly”, or some other non-eggcornish derivational path might be available. But it is hard to believe that would explain as many of these there are.
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Eggcornish motivation is not hard to find.
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Sometimes definiteness can be an effect or symptom of defiance. In the last example, for instance, the referenced person who is not the leader of the pack may have defiantly refused to assume that position, and his or her successful defiance would mean that being the leader of the pack has definitely not happened and (usually) will definitely not happen as long as the defiance continues. Generally, if someone defiantly maintains or intends something, it will (or at least is likely to) definitely happen (or be seen as true, etc..)
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Also once a person is convinced something is definitely true, he or she may well maintain it defiantly in the face of considerations or pressures inimical to it. In this case the defiance results from the definiteness, rather than vice versa (as above).
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Definite events or configurations of things may inconvenience one by their stubborn refusal to conform to one’s wishes, and this metaphorical stubbornness can feel like defiance. A person maintaining something definitely (e.g. giving somebody a definite “No!”) is likely to come across as defiant in his definite support or expression of the point at issue.
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Quite likely there are other rationales available, but these feel likely plenty to me, and it seems probable that at least some of these are active for at least some speakers/writers that use the word.

Last edited by DavidTuggy (2021-08-24 17:53:33)


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#2 2020-05-06 20:31:55

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2714
Website

Re: defiantly < definitely

Came across another of these today. Still feels eggcornish, to the extent that speakers are operating with the reasonings suggested above.

Here are a few more I’ve collected in the past. The first one, given its context, seems to me a bit more probably eggcornishly motivated, the latter ones less so.

[response to suggestion] Most defiantly not

This coffee is defiantly too sweat for me. ¶ [comment] LOL you spelled sweet wrong.

I am ready to start any time but I need to know defiantly if we are doing it.

Last edited by DavidTuggy (2021-07-25 18:26:02)


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#3 2021-06-05 08:56:35

Dadge
Eggcornista
Registered: 2005-11-10
Posts: 82

Re: defiantly < definitely

I’m not sure whether to class this as an eggcorn. Although there is some crossover of meaning between the two words, this error is caused by spellcheck.

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#4 2021-07-25 18:23:19

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2714
Website

Re: defiantly < definitely

Dadge wrote:

this error is caused by spellcheck.

No doubt it sometimes is, perhaps even often. But that doesn’t mean that it always is, or that there is nothing else at work. (I get it that you still allow room for doubt, and admit that it might be an eggcorn in some instances. I just didn’t want to leave that absolute-sounding final statement unchallenged.)


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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