Is there a difference between incline and recline? **************************************************************** 07-19-04, 04:02 PM Lydia Interesting question Kitty...
Incline basically means to slope, slant or lean. To recline means you are leaning/sloping/slanting backwards.
Technically to recline, you are inclining...but typically when someone refers to an "incline", they are talking about a slant (upwards), but, by virtue of the direction, that's not necessarily the case.
I'll be very interested in hearing the answers of others on this...
07-19-04, 04:18 PM Tree Recline: lie back, lounge, relax, repose
Incline: Slope, slant, grade
I can't see that they are the same at ALL! Smile
07-19-04, 06:25 PM kittypal AHHHH, so that's why a Lazy-Boy is a RECLINER and not an INCLINER!!! Smile Wink
Thanks again gals!! Smile 07-19-04, 06:40 PM DorianGreyed I'm inclined to decline to answer this one.
07-19-04, 06:48 PM coldfuse I wonder what incline is most comfortable in a recliner?
07-19-04, 08:35 PM Tree Yep... here is the typical story! "Thank you gals" and "BAD BAD boys!" Wink
07-19-04, 08:56 PM DorianGreyed My Latin teacher once told me to decline a noun. I said "No, thank you." The old bat flunked me.
07-20-04, 02:46 PM Lydia
quote:Originally posted by Tree: Recline: lie back, lounge, relax, repose
Incline: Slope, slant, grade
I can't see that they are the same at ALL! Smile
Hmmm...well... Websters dictionary of "RECLINE"... to lean or incline backwards
can ya see it now Tree??? Cool
07-20-04, 03:42 PM Ewood27 I hear the Italians are putting a clock on the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
After all, it's no use having the inclination if you haven't the time.
07-20-04, 05:04 PM Tree That would mean that "push" and "pull" mean the same thing too.
When you "push" something, you are basically "pulling" it backwards. No?
Confused Confused Confused
07-20-04, 07:00 PM FredPuli The Italians could helpfully put a sundial on it, Ewood :
" 3. verb intrans. Of a sundial; incline backwards." [Oxford English Dictionary ]
Otherwise the O.E.D. avoids such mischief and says of recline "1.verb trans. Place in a horizontal position, esp. on the back; push or cause to lean backwards; rest a part of the body (esp. the head )" and "4. verb intrans.Assume a horizontal or leaning position esp. in resting; lie back; repose"
and of incline " 1. verb trans. Bend or bow (the head, the body, oneself ) towards a thing, or forward and downward " Make of that what you will but it seems plain that you can incline by bending, back first, towards a thing . You could even say that you were reclining when putting something or yourself forwards , face down, horizontally but would normally be understood to mean that you were doing so face up and backwards.
Note: the popular understanding fits the Latin root. The prefix re- in a verb formed from a Latin verb, such as recline , principally denotes a movement back or away (as in reverse 'turn back', recede 'move back' ). Prefix in- often indicates a movement towards, forwards ( Latin clinatus means leant or bent forwards; clinare is the supposed, but unrecorded classically, infinitive 'to lean' )
By the way, the Romans had a word 'clinopale' meaning 'a wrestling in bed'. Irrelevant to this but I thought we all ought to know that, in case we ever needed a word for it. The Romans took this word from Greek; Heaven knows what it meant, in practice, to the Ancient Greeks Wink.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
