Re: Pollenation, pollenization

Krzysztof Kozminski wrote:
> 
> On Monday, March 4, 2002, at 11:58 AM, Tony and Moira Ryan wrote:
> 
> > Nan Sterman wrote:
> >>
> >> Can someone please tell me the difference beween pollenation and
> >> pollenization?
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >>
> > Hi Nan
> > After a bit of detective work I have come to the conclusion that while
> > pollination (note spelling) is a legitimate word relating to the
> > process
> > of transferring pollen from an anther to a stigma, pollinization is
> > simply a made-up term which appears neither in any dictionary to
> > which I
> > have access nor in my favourite botany text.
> 
> See www.dictionary.com - you'll find all spellings as legitimate
> variants, with either the American Heritage Dictionary or
> Merriam-Webster as the sources.

Interestingly my two reference sources were British dictionaries, (one
including Australasian usages) so it appears likely that pollinization
is specifically an American rather then a British variant.

I remember someone on the list  (whose post I somehow seem to have
mislaid) telling us that pomologists in the States use pollinate
specifically for the act of pollination while pollinize is the function
of providing the pollen. Well, I checked this with various local
handbooks on fruit growing and found only pollinator use for either the
tree providing the pollen or the agent (bee or whatever) which delivers
it.

So I guess this is yet another example of how the formal use of English
is diverging between the Old and New worlds.

Thanks for bringing this up Nan

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata NZ, 
where it's Summer in January and Winter in July.
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