It is interesting how I sometimes get stuck on simple words. Words that no native English speaking person would ever get stuck on.
I was about to describe a device. The description needed to be simple. The device was simple too.
On one end of the device was a. . . a. . . you know, a carved out. . . a small. . . for a ball to sit properly. . . Come on! This is simple! A. . . what?
I checked my dictionary.
“Hole”, “pit”, “howe”, “pothole” and “pot-hole”.
“Hole”? Isn’t that a. . . hole? I mean, right through the material?
“Pit”? No. That is a mining word, isn't it? Or an arm-pit?
“Howe”? MS Word and WordWeb refuse to accept this as a noun but insist it is a name. As a noun it seems like a word meant for geography, not for a small device in wood.
“Pothole” and “pot-hole”? Described as words used in traffic or geology.
I finally settled for “hole”. Not because I am completely convinced it is the right word, but because it will make the device work. It does not matter if a hole is right through the material or only a marking on the surface as long as a ball can be placed there.
I kept thinking of a game I had as a child called “ball-bank”. It was a wooden box with one hole and five. . . holes. . .
No! English must have a word for a hole that is not deep but just an. . . excavation. . . an inverted bump?
6 comments:
A dent or depression?
I would have gone for Depression too. or Dip.
Thank you very much for your interest in helping me. You have given me several new angles. Wow! English is interesting.
If I understand the word "depression" correctly it is something geological rather than man made on an item. Is that correct?
"Dent" feels very close to the word I'm looking for. "A depression scratched or carved into a surface" says WordWeb. Perfect. But it also describes the word as something accidental or damaging.
"Dip" also feels close, but used for something larger. And gee, how many uses that word has!
"Dent" and "dip". Got to check up on those more closely.
Thank you very much!
The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.
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Indentation might work, too.
Indentation was also a good word. Thank you.
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