November 9, 2004
Quote as a Noun
I've gotten several emails from readers complaining that my "Educational Quote of the Day" should be "Educational Quotation of the Day" because "quote" is a verb, not a noun.
They, however, are wrong. "Quote" is a noun (as well as a verb.) In informal usage, "quote" is a synonym for "quotation" and has been since the 1880's. Here are my sources:
The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
CBC News: QUIBBLING OVER QUOTES
Oh, and if you want to receive my free, daily "Educational Quote of the Day", you can sign up here.
More Posts Like This One: Ask Barbara
Posted by Barbara J. Feldman at November 9, 2004 8:36 AM | Comments (1)
They are NOT wrong. (Or should I say informally, "thems people aint be wrong"?) People have been using the word "aint" since the 1700s as an informal version of "are not"; that doesn't make IT ok to use. No amount of time or usage will make it so.
When a usage note or article or whatever says that it's ok to use "quote" as a noun in informal writing, they're not saying that it's a good idea. They're saying that it's ok for you to ignore the rules and sound like an idiot in informal writing because no one is going to hold you accountable for doing so. Obviously, they are wrong.
Posted by: Guest on August 10, 2008 9:19 AM