February 14, 2005, 17:43
<wordnerd>Prophyla_ic
jheem said elsewhere, "
It all depends on your definition of a dictionary. For some it is a prophylaxic against bad grammar ..."
I was aware of the words
prophylactic and
prophylaxis, but not
prophylaxic. But never doubt jheem! And indeed, although the last is not in one-look, it's found
in use.
Is there any difference in usage between
prophylactic and
prophylaxic?February 14, 2005, 17:49
KallehYes, as you saw in the link, wordnerd, "prophylaxic" is used medically, though "prophylactic" is also used
medically.I don't think there is a difference between the words, but I could be wrong.
Of course, we all know the noun use of a "prophylactic."

February 15, 2005, 00:00
aput -xic is a re-formation in English: the Greek endings were always
-tic- but
-sis/xis, with assibilation having taken place in the Attic-Ionic dialect.
February 15, 2005, 04:34
jheemLearn to doubt, expecially if I'm jet-lagged with the flu. I started to write prophylaxis and then changed words midstream ending up with what I ended up with. I should've written
French letter.