I'm sure that I'm not the only one here who cringes whenever I hear anyone talk about the "enormity" of something when they're talking about the size of something rather than the wrongness or evilness of something. Not too long ago, I actually stopped reading a book about The Simpsons that I checked out from the library because I could no longer take the author seriously after he misused "enormity" in an early section of the book.
Is this a linguistic pet peeve that I should hold on to, or should I just look at this as an example of how language evolves and let go of the whole thing? Right now, I'm sort of inclined toward the latter option, but I stand by my decision to stop reading the Simpsons book in which the author misused "enormity."
I don't share your peeve, but you are certainly in some very good company. This topic has come up before:
https://waywordradio.org/discussion/topics/obamas-enormity-1/?value=Enormity&type=1&include=1&search= 1" target="_blank"> thread
https://waywordradio.org/discussion/topics/cut-to-the-chase-full-episode-1/?value=Enormity&type=1&include=1&search=1&ret=al l" target="_blank"> podcast
https://waywordradio.org/discussion/topics/enormity-1/?value=Enormity&type=1&include=1&search=1&ret=al l" target="_blank"> thread 2
Webster's 1828 agrees with you, while Webster's 1913 admits the duality of meaning.
Etymology Fan said:
I'm sure that I'm not the only one here who cringes whenever I hear anyone talk about the "enormity" of something when they're talking about the size of something rather than the wrongness or evilness of something. Not too long ago, I actually stopped reading a book about The Simpsons that I checked out from the library because I could no longer take the author seriously after he misused "enormity" in an early section of the book.
Is this a linguistic pet peeve that I should hold on to, or should I just look at this as an example of how language evolves and let go of the whole thing? Right now, I'm sort of inclined toward the latter option, but I stand by my decision to stop reading the Simpsons book in which the author misused "enormity."
It's a perfectly cromulent use of the word.