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Diamond
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Extraordinary....hmmmmmmmmm, why if it's EXTRA ordinary wouldn't it be even more ordinary than just ordinary? big grin
 
Posts: 4982 | Location: Utopia | Registered: 06-04-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond
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So... if I order an 'extra small coffee', should I get a tiny coffee, a big coffee, or one more coffee than I need?
 
Posts: 7724 | Location: Canada | Registered: 06-03-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond Enthusiast

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No, it's not "extra" as in "more than." More than ordinary would be "of extreme ordinariness", as Kittypal says. Same with "extra full." It's "extra" as in "outside of", just as "extramarital" means outside of marriage. big grin big grin big grin
 
Posts: 3826 | Location: Olympia, WA, USA | Registered: 06-04-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond
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Thank you for the great answer Catty!!!! big grin
 
Posts: 4982 | Location: Utopia | Registered: 06-04-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by kittypal:
Extraordinary....hmmmmmmmmm, why if it's EXTRA ordinary wouldn't it be even more ordinary than just ordinary? big grin


To strike a pedantic note, in Latin the prefix "extra" means "out of", as in extra-terrestrial, (from) out of the earth. So extraordinary means out of the ordinary.

The meaning you are using came from the meaning of out of the normal quantity - a crate plus one extra, a bakers dozen plus one ectra. From that, people made it into an intensifier - extra small is out of the normal run of smallness. So, as yopu say, in extraordinary, it has almost turned full circle.
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Newbury, England | Registered: 06-03-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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