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Chris -- 2018-04-11
There are lots of examples (never waiver in beliefs, values, or convictions). Finding ones where the author is clearly aware of the difference between waver and waiver (or at least of the meaning of waiver) is more difficult.
Dr. Rice Speaks at Vanderbilt
Remarks by the National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice
May 13, 2004
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases … 40517.html
Today we hear these same doubts about the possibility of freedom in the Middle East. We have to reject those doubts. Knowing what we know about the difficulties of our own history, knowing the history of Alabama and Mississippi and Tennessee, we should be humble in singing freedom’s praise, but our voice should never waiver in speaking out on the side of those who seek freedom.
Googling on “never waiver” site:gov
retrurns 55 examples of our government officials never waivering.
San Francisco State University Celebrates
Its Centennial Year Commencement in Style
Keynote address by NASA astronaut, physician, Alumna of the Year Yvonne Cagle
http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy98/086.htm
S.F. State President Robert A. Corrigan told graduates to remember an important message about their alma mater. “I want all of you to know that San Francisco State will never waiver in its commitment to access and diversity, just as it will never waiver in its commitment to quality and excellence. We ask that you carry the message far and wide-your university remains welcoming and accessible. That is our pledge to you as we enter our second century and a new millennium.”
In “The Recipe: The Laughter Flows Like Wine” by Bob Makin
http://www.jambands.com/nov00/features/therecipe.html
But this is our life and it’s what we love to do. We never waiver. That’s my new catchphrase for the week, ‘Never waiver.’
I had two concerns with my post on “never waiver†versus “never waver.â€
The first was whether there were old originals with “never waiver†as the intended forms. (Although one would have to change from a noun to a verb.) From searchable KJ Bibles and Shakespeare, I only find “waver.â€
James 1:6
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Thou almost makest me waver in my faith Merchant of Venice: IV, i
In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation: King Henry VI, part I: IV, i
I was also concerned about how close the etymologies of the two words are. I find the following at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/:
Waiver, n.
[Anglo-Norman weyver, from weyver, to abandon.]
1.a. Intentional relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege.
1.b. The document that evidences such relinquishment.
2. A dispensation, as from a rule or penalty.
3. Permission for a professional athletic club to assign a player to the minor leagues or release a player from the club, granted only after all other clubs have been given the opportunity to claim the player and have not done so.
4. A deferment.
wa·ver intr.v.
[Middle English waveren; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]
1. To move unsteadily back and forth. See Synonyms at swing.
2.a. To exhibit irresolution or indecision; vacillate: wavered over buying a house.
2.b. To become unsteady or unsure; falter: His resolve began to waver.
3. To tremble or quaver in sound, as of the voice or a musical note.
4. To flicker or glimmer, as light.
n.
The act of wavering.
These reflections made him waver in his purpose, but his craze being stronger than any reasoning, he made up his mind to have himself dubbed a knight by the first one he came across, following the example of others in the same case, as he had read in the books that brought him to this pass.
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Last edited by leflynn (2006-04-07 11:42:20)
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I suspect we may not resolve this issue until we locate someone uttering “waiver” and “waive” in the same breathe—and still retain the sense of “waver”. I have not yet located any such juxtaposition, and the fact that “waiver” has it’s own distinct meaning certainly doesn’t help the hunt.
[Note that leflynn’s post dates back to March 2006]
Last edited by jorkel (2007-07-08 09:59:47)
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Well, here you go, from S.F. State President Robert A. Corrigan’s closing remarks at commencement May 31, 1997:
At a time when others are challenging the very essence of what we stand for at San Francisco State, I want all of you to know that this university, despite Proposition 187 and despite Proposition 209, will never waver in its commitment to access and to diversity, just as it will never waiver in its commitment to quality and to excellence.
Of course, even this one doesn’t help us out. I found this one in a November 1997 collection of such statements, and in every other case where Corrigan said the same thing, both words are written as “waver.” (It appears that the error in the similar quote cited above, which occurs in a press release about the 1999 commencement, is the work of whoever wrote the release, not Corrigan.)
Still, it’s interesting to me that the error seems to be much more frequent since the original transcript of W’s October 2001 speech was released. (The transcript itself has been revised; you can find the original form only on sites such as the Washington Post’s. And the error occurred repeatedly thereafter in speeches by Rice, Rumsfeld, and other administration officials.)
Last edited by huevomaiztro (2007-07-09 00:07:00)
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