“He had a plutonic friendship with this woman.”
I reckon this plutonic friendship was either about an interest in Pluto or one that had to be hidden underground. That or he was simply friends with the woman, you know, platonic.
Platonic generally refers to nonromantic, nonsexual relationships.
Plutonic, a common misspelling of platonic, refers to either geology or relates to the Roman god Pluto (Hades is the Greek version). Both definitions go underground!
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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| Platonic | Plutonic |
|---|---|
 — |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective 1, 2 | Adjective |
| Adjective: Of or associated with the Greek philosopher Plato or his ideas 1 Confined to words, theories, or ideals, and not leading to practical action [Of love or friendship] Intimate and affectionate but not sexual 2 |
Adjective: [Geology] Relating to or denoting igneous rock formed by solidification at considerable depth beneath the earth’s surface [Plutonic] Relating to the underworld or the god Pluto
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: Amazon had put out a copy of Plato’s The Platonic Dialogues for English Readers: Dialogues of the Socratic School, and Dialogues Referring to the Trial and Death of Socrates in Kindle and paperback. “I have managed to work my way through the entire Platonic literary corpus, including apocrypha*” (Stride). It was a kind of Platonic ideal of a New York City apartment. Some platonic gestures of friendship include sharing equal responsibility for friend invites to plans or events, checking in just to see how friends are, making an effort to be there as support if they express they’re going through a hard time, showing small acts of kindness, etc. Their relationship is purely platonic. |
Adjective: “Plutonic rocks are igneous rocks that solidified from a melt at great depth” (Alden). “Additional geochronology in combination with geochemical and AMS analyses are aimed at a more detailed reconstruction of the emplacement and eruption history of this plutonic-volcanic system” (Zhang). Charles Lyell held plutonic theories. “Producers of building stone classify all plutonic rocks as commercial granite” (Alden). “Simon O’Neill unleashed a gleaming, live-steel tenor, and Franz-Josef Selig’s plutonic bass made for an imposing Hunding” (Madonna). “The plutonic ether is what Lucius thinks occupies the body after death and postulates that since the dead soldiers were floating they must’ve been inflated by it” (Mathema_tika). “God graunt it be no Plutonicke affray: Oh what it is to be a mortall man Subiect to all the guiles . . . of Satan” (Copley). “As you are the sole Monarch in this Kingdom of Spectres, you are certainly so only by Deputation from his Plutonick Majesty” (Arbuthnot, 180). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: platonically | Adjective: Plutonian, plutonous Noun: Pluto, pluton, plutonism, plutonist |
| History of the Word: | |
|
Between 1790–1800, from the Latin Plūtōn- (stem of Plūtō meaning Pluto from the Greek Ploútōn) + -ic; originally referring to the Plutonic theory (plutonism). |
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 Platonic versus Plutonic
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Alden, Andrew. “All About Plutonic Rocks.” ThoughtCo. 10 Jan 2019. Accessed 13 May 2024. <https://www.thoughtco.com/plutonic-rocks-1440845>.
Apple Dictionary.com
Arbuthnot, Archibald. Memoirs of the Remarkable Life and Surprizing Adventures of Miss Jenny Cameron, a Lady, Who by Her Attachment to the Person and Cause of the Young Pretender, has Render’d Herself Famous by Her Exploits . Originally published 1746. HardPress, 2018. <https://amzn.to/4bg0Yka>. Ebook.
Copley, Anthony. A Fig for Fortune. Originally published 1596. Ulan Press, 2012. <https://amzn.to/3yiO6Ls>. Print.
Madonna, Zoë. “Andris Nelsons, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra Bring the Thunder with ‘Walküre’.” Music Review. BostonGlobe.com. 29 July 2019. Accessed 14 May 2024. <https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2019/07/29/andris-nelsons-tanglewood-music-center-orchestra-bring-thunder-with-walkure/4FQrhYxMC1ikTiaI6Yh2HO/story.html>.
Mathema_tika. “What is the ‘Plutonic Ether’?” reddit. 2023. Accessed 13 May 2024. <https://www.reddit.com/r/hborome/comments/ztt0cj/what_is_the_plutonic_ether/>.
Merriam-Webster: plutonic
Stride, Daniel. “A Platonic Reading Order.” A Phuulish Fellow. n.d. Accessed 13 May 2024. <https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2019/08/18/a-platonic-reading-order/>.
Zhang, T., R. Mundil, C.F. Miller, and J.S. Miller, and S.R. Paterson. “Evolution Of An Upper Crustal Plutonic-Volcanic Plumbing System:Insights From High Precision U-Pb Zircon Geochronology Of Intracaldera Tuff And Intrusions In Silver Creek Caldera, Arizona, USA.” American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract id. V31A-2311. Dec 2010. Accessed 13 May 2024. Bibcode: 2010AGUFM.V31A2311Z. <https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010AGUFM.V31A2311Z/abstract>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Pluto Carries Proserpine Off is under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Gary Stockbridge Photos and courtesy of the New York Public Library‘s Digital Collections.
