I'm like a distressed lion, or a confused Koala; you see the thing is; some thing, can be turned to something, all ways, can be turned to always, and some times into sometimes, every thing can be turned to everything.
So why oh why do I still get that red squiggly line when I try and turn every time into everytime? I mean we even pronounce it as one word, so why not write it as one?
How do words develop; how do two words become one? Who decides these things?!
The Evolution Conundrum
The science in which syntax, language and meaning shifts, changes, and evolves over time (overtime, hmmm, different meaning), is called etymology and it has been a subject that has fascinated me for a long time (longtime), in that I often sit and ponder on why and how a word evolves over time.
Lately in particular, I have been musing over why some words can be added to the words 'thing' and 'time', and some cannot.
Whilst this minor malaise may not (maynot, there's that squiggly line again), trouble the average person on the street. It bothers me; I write thousands of words per week, and as I type I like to find shortcuts (short cuts) to ease the process.
A short cut that I often use, yet am told via the spellcheck red squiggly line, that it's incorrect, is the word everytime.
You see! Well, you won't because it only pops up when you're editing a document in Word, or as in this case, Draft. I am told that the word everytime is not a word, but why the hell not!?!
Grrrrrr.
I mean, it clearly has nothing to do with the word every, because everything is fine when you type everything.
Also it can't be because of the word time, because sometime is considered fine. So both the words, every and time can be conjoined with other oft used words to make a new compound word, mostly carrying exactly the same meaning.
Except of course in an example used above, over time, and overtime, can mean two different things.
Do you think that over time, you can come to love me?
Or
I want to work overtime next week and earn double my wages.
However:
Some time in the future.
Means the same as:
Sometime in the future.
A Very Quirky Language
Could this be because of the fact that the English language is so wonderfully quirky? The language could almost claim to be a hybrid language.
Or perhaps English is a magpie language; stealing shiny linguistic baubles from the other languages, for use in its own nest.
Maybe that's why words like every don't quite fit into an established lexicon?
In the words of Marge Simpson
Hmmmmmmmm
Give Me A Compound Everytime!
I give you a list of compound words starting with the word every, that are listed within the Oxford English Dictionary.
Everyday.
Everything
Everywhere
Everyone
Everybody
Everyplace
Everyman
Everywoman
But
Not
Everytime!
Why????
....and breathe, relax, maybe the answer is out there in the Steem-O-Sphere, if not, if there is not one single credible argument. Then please, pretty please, with a cherry on top, whomsoever is responsible for making these things so . . .
DO IT ALREADY!!!!
WHAT ABOUT YOU? ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMPOUND OR NON-COMPOUNDABLE WORDS THAT FREAK YOU OUT AND HAVE YOU ASKING WHY THE RULES ARE WRITTEN JUST SO? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!