Re: [debian-faq] descendent vs. descendant
victory wrote:
> debian-faq says:
> Today, Debian's developers think of it as a direct descendent of the GNU project.
>
> (this was not changed since 2000, but ...)
>
> 'direct descendant' exists as a set phrase,
> and naturally, this phrase looks like a noun
>
> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/descendant says:
> Usage notes
> The adjective may be spelled either with ant or ent
> as the final syllable (see descendent).
> The noun may be spelled only with ant.
>
> then, 'descendant' looks like a correct word here
My paper en_GB dictionaries are less certain - one broadly agrees with
wiktionary, one thinks the noun is "descendant, N(orth) Am(erica) also
descendent", one doesn't recognise the -ent word as existing at all.
I think you're right, though, "descendant" is more standard.
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
diff -ru debian-faq-5.0.1.pristine/basic_defs.sgml debian-faq-5.0.1/basic_defs.sgml
--- debian-faq-5.0.1.pristine/basic_defs.sgml 2007-07-11 19:28:06.000000000 +0100
+++ debian-faq-5.0.1/basic_defs.sgml 2013-06-02 20:46:59.077246351 +0100
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
<p>The Debian Project was created by Ian Murdock in 1993, initially under
the sponsorship of the Free Software Foundation's GNU project. Today,
-Debian's developers think of it as a direct descendent of the GNU project.
+Debian's developers think of it as a direct descendant of the GNU project.
<p>Although &debian; itself is free software, it is a base upon which
value-added Linux distributions can be built. By providing a reliable,
Reply to: