atw: Re: Tangential Vs Tangental (Etymology)

Nigel Dawes:

> I've been trying to research the difference between these two spellings
> and the etymology relating to them, but have thus far been unsuccessful.

> Can anyone out there please elucidate?

The Macquarie and the American Heritage show "tangental" as a less preferred 
alternative spelling for "tangential". The Shorter Oxford doesn't even mention 
"tangental". I therefore surmise that both forms have the same etymology (the 
suffix -al often takes the form -ial) and the same meaning, but a lot of people 
will thing you've made a mistake if you omit the -i-.

Michael Lewis
 
Department of Linguistics,
Macquarie University
 


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