Revised as of
9 Sept 2022
This was a topic in one of the listservs to which I belong, and I found it curious that the British and American uses were directly opposite each other. So it all depends on the country in which your target audience resides.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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Dissertation | Thesis |
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Part of Grammar: | |
Noun
Plural: dissertations |
Noun 1, 2
Plural: theses |
[U.S.] Written for a Ph.D.
[British] Written for a master’s or bachelor’s degree |
[U.S.] Written for a master’s or bachelor’s degree
[British] Written for a Ph.D. [Israeli] Written for a Ph.D. or master’s degree |
A long piece of writing about a particular subject that is done to earn an advanced degree at a university
An extended, usually written, treatment of a subject Witten as a requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.), a doctorate in any discipline except medicine, or sometimes theology |
A long essay or dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view 1
A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved
Subject for a composition or essay [Prosody] An unstressed syllable or part of a metrical foot in Greek or Latin verse 2
[Music] Downward stroke in conducting [Music] Downbeat |
Examples: | |
Joe wrote his doctoral dissertation on Thucydides.
She went on then into a dissertation on her family’s love of Ireland. |
His central thesis is that psychological life is not part of the material world.
He finally finished his doctoral thesis. He wrote his thesis on Marian figures used in the Church during the Renaissance. Even though he was still in high school, he wrote the equivalent of a master’s thesis on the effects of global warming. New evidence has come to light which supports his thesis. We disagreed with the basic thesis of the report. The book’s central thesis is that propaganda influences the masses in important ways. |
Derivatives: | |
Adjective: dissertational Noun: dissertationist |
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History of the Word: | |
Its first known use was in 1651.
Early 17th century, in the sense of discussion, debate from the Latin dissertatio(n-), which is from dissertare, meaning continue to discuss from disserere meaning examine, discuss. |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Dissertation versus Thesis
Apple Dictionary.com
Merriam-Webster: dissertation, thesis
Oxford Dictionaries: dissertation
Pinterest Photo Credits
US Flag 49 Stars was created by jacobolus using Adobe Illustrator for the U.S. government and Union Flag 1606 (Kings Colors) by Hoshie are both in the public domain. Man Reading Book by David Boyle from London, UK, (week19_0006), is under the CC BY 2.0 license. All three are via Wikimedia Commons.