And yet another word confusion of my own. I actually did see this as the same word, but figured I had to be wrong. They’re spelled differently, therefore they must have different definitions. Mustn’t they?
When I ran across esthetic used in a story, I decided to dive into it and prove it one way or the other. I was not expecting to find the dental aspect. Other than that one toothy field, aesthetic and esthetic can be used interchangeably. Ain’t that a sweet deal?
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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| Aesthetic | Esthetic |
|---|---|
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Noun (a plural noun usually treated as a singular noun)
Plural for the noun: aesthetics |
Adjective; Noun (a plural noun usually treated as a singular noun)
Plural for the noun: esthetics |
| Adjective: Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
Noun: [Plural noun] A set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art
[Singular noun] A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement |
Adjective: Concerned with creating a natural and pleasing smile Noun: |
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: The pictures give great aesthetic pleasure. In this period, they occupied very much the center of aesthetic appreciation and social value. Women also appreciate the aesthetic value of a knife and may choose to combine function with beauty. As of now, people in the State are hooked to just the aesthetic aspect of design. They chose wood as their preferred blocking material because it offers more natural, aesthetic options for interior design. Noun: The graphic designs of Constructivism and the Bauhaus had their foundations in the collage aesthetic. Signed Henri Matisse lithographs on the lounge wall reinforce the Modernist aesthetic. |
Adjective: Seventy-five percent of North American dentists preferred using the RED proportion when designing smiles with normal-length teeth over using the golden proportion, which has been a pseudostandard in esthetic dentistry (Ward). Aesthetic dentistry uses techniques available to modern medicine to give you a more natural, healthy look. Noun: The English are not renowned for the estheticism of their dental work. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: nonaesthetic, pseudoaesthetic Adverb: aesthetically Verb: aestheticise [British], aestheticize [US] |
Adverb: esthetically [sometimes US] Verb: estheticise |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late 18th century.
From the Greek aisthētikos which is itself from the aisthēta meaning perceptible things which is itself from aisthesthai meaning to perceive in the sense of relating to perception by the senses. In the sense concerned with beauty, it was coined in German in the mid-18th century and adopted into English in the early 19th century, but its use was controversial until late in the century. |
1815–25 from the New Latin, which is from the Greek. |
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 Aesthetic versus Esthetic
Apple Dictionary.com
Lexico.com: aesthetic
Ward, Dr Daniel H. “A Study of Dentists’ Preferred Maxillary Anterior Tooth Width Proportions: Comparing the recurring esthetic dental proportion to other mathematical and naturally occurring proportions.” Wiley Online Library. 14 Nov 2007. Web. n.d. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1708-8240.2007.00114.x/abstract>.
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Revised as of 17 June 2023
By: Kathy Davie