Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Parse derives from the Latin pars orationis part of speech. So, parsing relates to separating something into it’s parts. (MW lists definitions which strictly relate to language, but I for one use it in a wide variety of contexts).
Parcel derives from the Latin particule small part. This is certainly similar to the former etymology since the two refer to parts. So the two have that in common, and perhaps the distinction is rather small for a proposed eggcorn.
In spite of the similar etymology, I’m suggesting that parce may be an eggcorn of parse which captures the meaning of parcel. That is, when some people hear the word “parse” they immediately recognize the similarity to the more familiar word “parcel”—and perhaps conclude that the word they are hearing is “parce” ...the verb form related to “parcel.” (In reality, “parcel” can be verb or noun).
(Finally, I’m sure there are plenty of instances where “parce” is simply a misspelling of “parse,” but I find the eggcorn argument compelling in many other cases).
Examples:
Are Insurers Exploiting Health Care Debate To Mislead Seniors And Drum …Medicare Advantage has been the bane of many seniors lives; while there are options for more services, most seniors can’t parce out what is covered and what is not, as the coverage …
tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/are_insurers_exploiting_health_care_debate…
Boorah Restaurant Reviews: Zagat On SteroidsReviews are mined, scored and parced into four categories, which will remind some of Zagat: Food, Ambiance, Service and a composite Overall rating.
searchengineland.com/boorah-restaurant-reviews-zagat-on-steroids-10394
Last edited by jorkel (2010-01-14 08:54:20)
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No replies. Am I completely out in left field on this one?
For instance, can someone speak to the legitimacy of using parse in non-linguistic senses when MW limits their definitions to that?
Last edited by jorkel (2010-01-15 23:09:02)
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I found this an interesting and credible suggestion. Just didn’t have anything to add :). I found the etymology interesting too. On this forum I think some year-end-listers get no comments on the original post. Preserves their severe beauty :).
I don’t parse anything but sentences but I would understand anyone who used it to connote or denote otherwise. I think its less likely to be mutating than is the sometime-synonymous scan. The first pages of ghits for scan refer to digital scanning, not to poetry or the human eye. Parse on the web is similarly more likely to refer to syntactical analysis by a silicon parser than to other uses. Many of the people using parce on the web are referring to computerish.
Scan is used metaphorically in The Bourne Supremacy, as in, “Does that scan, Marty, at all?” I guess only those who’ve watched that particular film more than a dozen times might know that.
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