There are "wordies," people who love words, and then there are "grammandos," those who can't resist correcting other people's language. So says Professor Anne Curzan in her book Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words.
Our listener Matt Berven received a copy of Curzan's book for Christmas. Though Berven considers himself more of a wordie than a grammando, there's one word he's never been able to let slide.
"I have always been peeved by 'reoccur' being used for 'recur,'" Berven says. "After reading just half of [Curzan's] introduction, I thought I'd better look up 'recur,' and there it was: recur is regarded as better style than reoccur. Reoccur is not a forbidden usage! I was chagrinned."
First, we appreciate Berven's honesty. Even devoted wordies tend to have at least one language peeve. We also appreciate his willingness to admit that his peeve may be unwarranted.
As Berven notes, both "recur" and "reoccur" can be found in most standard dictionaries, though "recur" and "recurrence" are more common. "Reoccur" is definitely a word though, and may have a different meaning than "recur." "Recurrence" can suggest periodic or frequent repetition, while "reoccurrence" can simply mean something happened once before.
The Oxford English Dictionary says "reoccur" came into English in 1734. It was formed in English from the prefix "re" combined with "occur" which was borrowed in from Latin. "Recur" entered English earlier, in the early 1500s, and is a direct borrowing from Latin. At that time, it had a meaning closer to “resort,” as in turning to someone or something for help. In the 1500s, one might recur to God or recur to a remedy.
In the early 1600s, "recur" took on the familiar meaning "to happen again, especially frequently or repeatedly." By the end of that century, it was commonly used in medicine to describe returning diseases or symptoms. Today, we often use "recur" to refer to everything from recurring dreams to persistent questions or problems.
To hear more about "recur," listen to the audio above.
