The battle is lost, I fear, but does it bother anyone else when the word "regime" is incorrectly used when "regimen", as in fitness regimen, is proper?
Happens all the time now, so much that it's become part of the vernacular.
But behold, from the dictionary:
Regimen: a: a systematic plan (as of diet, therapy, or medication) especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patient b: a regular course of action and especially of strenuous training; the daily regimen of a top athlete.
Regime: a: mode of rule or management b: a form of government (a socialist regime) c: a government in power (predicted that the new regime would fall) d: a period of rule.
You be the judge. I've made mine. Another proper meaning rendered meaningless, alas.
I thought I was the only one who was bothered by this. I thought I was losing it! Evidently, people now think that two words that are spelled similarly are interchangeable.
Posted by: XA | April 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
DB: a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings. The use of "regime" to indicate a "regimen" is a case of using the wrong word, e.g. it is a grammatical error. I saw "regime" used this way (incorrectly) in a recent issue of Us Weekly, but just because something is used in print by ill-informed writers/editors doesn't make it correct.
Posted by: JB | March 28, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Oh my God! You mean we now live in a world where one word can have more than a single meaning? Oh, the humanity!
It's called a homonym. Deal with it.
Posted by: DB | June 19, 2008 at 12:38 PM