[OT] Insure/Ensure [was Re: A sensible plan for non-free]
On Mon, Mar 15, 2004 at 01:36:46AM -0600, ean@brainfood.com wrote:
> in-sure: v. tr.
> ...
> 2. To make sure, certain or secure.
>
> On Saturday 13 March 2004 08:22 am, Darren Salt wrote:
> > > The benefit is that we insure that "supported" non-free software is
> > > maintained under our close supervision without actually distributing it
> > > ourselves. [...]
> >
> > Er, no. You *ensure* it. Or is there a bet (commonly known as "insurance
> > payment") involved?
>From http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/035.html:
Although ensure and insure are generally
interchangeable, only insure is now widely used in American
English in the commercial sense of "to guarantee persons or
property against risk." If you want to keep them straight, it may
be easier just to give these words separate roles: I assure you
that we have insured the grounds to ensure that we will be
protected in case of a lawsuit stemming from an accident
James Kilpatrick's has a column on this sort of thing called "The
Writer's Art" -- I like it.
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