Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
my husband and I are having a discussion on the words frequently and commonly. he asserts that the difference in the two words is that frequently has a set time interval while commonly is "normal with no time interval implied"
I on the other hand believe the frequently and commonly are often interchangable, while a third word "frequency" is the word he is thinking of that has a set time interval.
I submit that Haleys Comet has a frequency of every 11 years, while Santas reindeer Comet has a more frequent frequency of every year at Christmas.
the question: does frequently ever have a set time interval?
Dianne, you have my vote, at least on the "frequency" part.
I'm not so sure, however, that I would freely interchange "frequently" and "commonly". While similar, I feel that they differ in subtle shades of meaning.
Personally, I would tend to consider "frequently" to be an antonym of "rarely"; "commonly" would be more the antonym of "unusually".
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)