Word Confusion: Calvary versus cavalry

Posted April 9, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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I’ll be bookmarking this one for myself…I had to keep going back and checking to make sure I had the right Calvary, you know, the Easter Passion, trauma, suffering, Christ on the cross.

Poor guy. I know he kind of hoped the cavalry, i.e., God the Father, might show up and help him out…

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 noir for you from either end.

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Calvary	cavalry
Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Dictionary.com: cavalry, calvary
The Way of the Cross is under the CC0 license, via PxFuel. — The road to Calvary was the personal calvary of Jesus.	Cavalry Charge by The U.S. Army is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Proper noun Plural for the noun: calvaries	Noun Plural: cavalries
Noun: [Often lowercase] A sculpture or picture representing the scene of the Crucifixion A series of representations of Christ’s Passion in a church [Lowercase] An experience or occasion of extreme suffering, especially mental suffering Proper noun: The hill outside Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified	[Military; in the past; usually treated as plural] Soldiers who fought on horseback Modern soldiers who fight in armored vehicles or helicopters Mounted soldiers collectively Any military unit that is quick and mobile Horsemen, horses, etc., collectively Used to refer to a source of help or rescue in an emergency, especially as a last resort
Examples:
Noun: The Plaza Mayor is dominated by a calvary. Choose your favorite calvary paintings. There are thousands of calvaries as sculptures, paintings, and more throughout the world. Proper noun: Calvary may have been a place of public execution, and so named from the skulls strewn over it. The scene on Calvary differs as follows: In the Synoptists the soldiers divide His garments among them, casting lots (Mark xv). The Joneses request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Meredith Anne Jones to Jonathon Francis Wade on Saturday, 23 April 2011, at five o’clock in the afternoon at Calvary Baptist Church, Rockport, Indiana. “It was St. Melania the Younger who first adorned Mount Calvary with a chapel” ( Mount Calvary).	Young George joined the cavalry when he was sixteen. I hope the cavalry gets here before the robbers do! Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms. The 3rd Cavalry went on the offensive. Call out the cavalry! She said she wouldn’t be sending in the cavalry to sort out the country’s problems.
Derivatives:
	Noun: cavalryman, cavalrymen
History of the Word:
From the late Latin calvaria meaning skull, a translation of the Greek golgotha meaning place of a skull (Matt. 27:33).	Mid-16th century from the French cavallerie, from the Italian cavalleria, from cavallo meaning horse, from the Latin caballus.

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 by exploring the index. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, and/or the Properly Punctuated.

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