The word "comprised" is often misspelled due to its confusing pronunciation. The correct spelling with its phonetic transcription is /kəmˈpraɪzd/. The word is derived from the word "comprise", which means to include or contain. The suffix "-ed" is added to make it past tense. Many people incorrectly spell it as "comprized" or "comprised of", which is also incorrect. Therefore, it is important to remember the correct spelling and pronunciation of this word to avoid any errors.
"Comprised" is a verb that is commonly used to indicate the composition or constitution of a whole. It implies that something is made up of different parts or elements. The term is often misused, which leads to confusion and controversy.
The correct usage of "comprised" is when the whole or larger entity is the subject of the sentence, and the individual parts or elements make up that whole. In this context, "comprised" is followed by a list or series of the constituent parts. For example, one might say: "The United States is comprised of 50 states." Here, the subject of the sentence is the United States, and its composition is indicated by the list of 50 states.
However, "comprised" is often mistakenly used in the reverse manner, with the individual parts as the subject and the whole as the object. For instance, it is incorrect to say: "The 50 states comprise the United States." In this case, "comprised" should be replaced with "constitute" or "make up."
Due to its misuse, "comprised" has become a controversial word, and many language purists argue against its usage altogether. They suggest using alternative expressions, such as "composed of," "consists of," or "made up of," in order to convey the intended meaning without potential confusion.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "comprised" has historically been subject to considerable debate and criticism due to its usage as a verb. However, it is now widely accepted and recognized as a verb, although some people still prefer alternative constructions to express the same meaning.
The etymology of "comprise" can be traced back to the Old French word "compris" or "comprisent", which derived from Latin "comprehendere". "Comprehendere" is a compound of "com" (meaning "together") and "prehendere" (meaning "to grasp" or "to seize"). The original Latin meaning of "comprehendere" was "to include" or "to contain".
Over time, "compris" in Old French developed into Middle English "comprisen", which retained the meaning of "to include" or "to contain".