Yeah, it was that “Ansel Adams is renown for his timeless photographs” that got me.
Sure, most people have known that Adams is renowned for his photographs. The writer could have said that “the renowned Ansel Adams is known for his photographs” or “Ansel Adams is known for his renowned photographs”. ‘Cause, ya know, just because known and renown share those last four letters doesn’t mean they mean the same thing.
Especially since renown, meaning famous, is a noun and known is a past participle, a verb, about having information or knowledge.
As for renowned, it’s an adjective, also meaning famous, but it describes something.
You may be interested in exploring the differences in “Know versus No“, “Knows vs Noes vs Nose“, and, “Know How versus Know-how“.
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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| Renown | Renowned |
|---|---|
Ansel Adams and Camera has the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Picryl. — Ansel Adams has gained renown for his photographs. |
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Actress Helen Mirren at the Berlinale 2020 is Harald Krichel’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Dame Helen Mirren is renowned for her work in film and television. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: renown |
Adjective |
The condition of being known or talked about by many people in a good way
[Obsolete] Report
|
Known or talked about by many people
Having a widespread, especially good, reputation |
| Examples: | |
| They were authors of great renown.
She used to be a singer of some renown. Robin Hood is a hero of great renown. “His renown and his fortune were great enough for M” (Dumas). “By the 1880s, Northern California vineyards were far along their march to international renown with sophisticated varietal wines, and Los Angeles County was far along in making fortunes in citrus” (Morrison). |
It was a restaurant renowned for its Southwestern-style food.
He is renowned for his paintings. She had been a renowned actress. The area is renowned for its churches. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: renownless Noun: renowner |
Adverb: renownedly Noun: renownedness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English from the Anglo-Norman French renoun, from the Old French renomer meaning make famous, from re- (expressing intensive force) + nomer (to name), from the Latin nominare. | Middle English, dating back to 1325–75. |
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 Renown versus Renowned
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Apple Dictionary.com
Dumas, Alexandre. The Man in the Iron Mask. Originally published in 1850. 2021. <https://amzn.to/3PWQRqD>.
The Free Dictionary: renown
Morrison, Patt. “Long Before Citrus Reigned in Southern California, L.A. Made Wine. Lots of It.” Los Angeles Times. Updated 1 Nov 2022. Web. 27 Dec 2022. <https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-01/la-winemaking-history-patt-morrison>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Queen Elizabeth II, 12 November 2015, released by the UK Home Office is under the CC BY 2.0 license.
