Word Confusion: Annals vs Annual vs Annul

Posted January 9, 2023 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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I was looking over a list of available books, reading the excerpts, when I came across “in the annuls of history” . . .

Um, no.

The author may have annulled something, but when it comes to history and its records, it’s annals.

Annals are a record of something.

Annual is a word that occurred to me as I was typing up this post’s title, and I didn’t think I could ignore it. It’s an event or thing, usually books or reports, that occurs once a year.

Annul is to cancel, to abolish, to rescind something.

Oh. Boy. And then when I’m doing a search for visually defining images, what do I come across? Tons of annul field trips. I guess it was indeed a good idea to include annual.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may also want to explore “Bi- vs Biannual vs Biennial“.

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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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Annals	Annual	Annul
Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons, 1947, is under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons and courtesy of Wellcome Images.	Ridgewood High School Administration by Jeff Miller is under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Flickr. — A yearbook is an annual publication.	Portrait of Henry VIII of England was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger and photographed by Livioandronico2013. It is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons and is in the Palazzo Barberini collection in Rome. — It was Henry’s argument with Pope Clement VII about annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon that ended with the English Reformation.
Part of Grammar:
Plural Noun Singular for the noun: annals	Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: annuals	Gerund: annulling Third person present verb: annuls Past tense or past participle: annulled Present participle: annulling
Plural Noun: A record of events year by year Historical records [Annals] Used in titles of learned journals Regular reports of the work of a society, learned body, etc.	Adjective: Occurring once every year Calculated over or covering a period of a year [Of a plant] Living for a year or less, perpetuating itself by seed Noun: A book or magazine that is published once a year under the same title but with different contents An annual plant	Verb, transitive: To declare invalid (an official agreement, decision, or result) To declare (a marriage) to have had no legal existence To abolish To cancel
Examples:
Plural Noun: We have the eighth-century Northumberland annals. The deed will live forever in the annals of infamy. The annals of the famous European discoverers are in the museum. The Annals of Internal Medicine is the go-to journal. He has become a legend in the annals of military history. This king is mentioned several times in annals of the period.	Adjective: The sponsored walk became an annual event. We need to put together the annual report. Next week is the union’s annual conference. You should expect an annual rate of increase. His basic annual income isn’t enough to live on. It’s time to do the annual accounts. Annual flowers are best used in hanging baskets. Noun: I love getting the Joneses’ Christmas annual. The company prints trade journals, annuals, and directories. Gardeners sow annuals in spring.	Verb, transitive: The decision was annulled by the courts. Her first marriage was finally annulled by His Holiness. The marriage was annulled last month. “That task would be easier to perform now that his personal stake in it was annulled” (Wharton, ch 14). Joy annulled our cares.
Derivatives:
Adjective: annalistic Noun:annalist	Adjective: annualised [British], annualized Adverb: annually	Adjective: annullable Noun: annulment
History of the Word:
Mid-16th century from the Latin annales (libri) meaning yearly (books), from annus meaning year.	Late Middle English from the Old French annuel, which is from the late Latin annualis, based on the Latin annus meaning year.	Late Middle English from the Old French anuller, from the late Latin annullare, which is from ad- (to) + nullum (nothing).

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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!

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.

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