Revised as of
7 July 2023
This word confusion truly is all over the place, with writers confusing ladder for latter. I don’t care if they sound alike! Those writers who also manage to get confused with later and latter also need to be aware of those differences. ‘Cause it does. Make a difference, I mean.
You can use a ladder to climb up out of the morass — a case of the former clearing you out of the latter. But that’s a thought for a later date.
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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| Ladder | Later | Latter |
|---|---|---|
Ladder Hem-stitch by Thérèse de Dillmont (1846-1890) is in the public domain through the auspices of Gutenberg.org, via Wikimedia Commons. — The ladder stitch only looks complicated. |
Albert Einstein Head by photographer Orren Jack Turner, Princeton, New Jersey, was modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — In his later years, Einstein’s hair went white. |
Corner Lip Lift Before & After by Otto Placik is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Well, the latter image is aided by the lipstick. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: ladders Third person present verb: ladders |
Adjective 1; Adverb 2; Combined form 3; Exclamation 1 | Adjective, attributive |
| Noun: A structure consisting of a series of bars or steps between two upright lengths of wood, metal, or rope, used for climbing up or down something
[British; in tights or stockings] A run Anything resembling a ladder Verb, intransitive: To gain in popularity or importance Verb, transitive: To furnish with a ladder [Chiefly British] To cause a run in a stocking |
Adjective: Comparative of late 1 Adverb: Afterward, subsequently, or at a time in the future (sometimes followed by on) Combined Form: Exclamation: |
[the latter] The second-mentioned of two people or things
Situated or occurring nearer to the end of something than to the beginning
|
| Examples: | ||
| Noun: Be careful climbing that ladder. She bought a useful ladder that was lightweight and folded up easily. He’s one of the employees on their way up the career ladder. It’s a pile of laddered stockings I’m saving to use for crafting doll faces. We’ll need to get an extension ladder to reach up that high. She’s determined to climb the social ladder. Pamela got a ladder in her stocking. Use a ladder stitch to create an interesting peekaboo effect. Verb, intransitive: Once Dr. Mesan refined the formula, he laddered to the top. Verb, transitive: It’d be practical to ladder that water tower. That nail laddered my stocking. |
Adjective: Her later years were not happy. In his later years, he had kicked the heroin and cleaned up his act. Adverb: Sooner or later she’ll have to decide. The meeting ran later than we expected. She later said she was sorry. I’ll see you later. Let’s decide about this later on. Combined Form: Exclamation: Call me later. Later, baby. |
It took place in the latter half of 1989.
Heart disease dogged his latter years. The project had low cash flows in its latter years. The Russians could advance into either Germany or Austria — they chose the latter option. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: ladderless, ladderlike, laddery | Adjective: late, latter, latest, | Adjective: latter-day Adverb: latterly |
| History of the Word: | ||
| Old English hlæd(d)er is of West Germanic origin and related to the Dutch leer and the German Leiter. | Old English læt 1 in the sense of slow, tardy and late 2 are of Germanic origin and related to the German lass, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin lassus meaning weary. | Old English lætra meaning slower and comparative of læt. |
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!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Ladder vs Later vs Latter
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
This photo of The Gilbert Arizona Temple of the Latter-day Saints is from the official viewing area at the construction site while the latter is from another angle. Both photos are by Argon233 and are under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
