The Reuters story referenced in my last post contained a wild misuse of a common word. Here’s the citation:
While the prolific death chamber in the city of Huntsville, where 19 inmates have already been executed by lethal injection in 2007, makes Texas stand out, the state is also starting to follow national trends toward fewer death sentences.
“Prolific death chamber”? “Prolfiic” comes from a Latin word meaning “fruitful,” which in turn is based on the Latin word for “offspring.” The American Heritage Dictionary offers two definitions for the word:
1. Producing offspring or fruit in great abundance; fertile.
2. Producing abundant works or results: a prolific artist.
The Reuters writer has stood a pro-life word on its head, exchanging the idea of fruitfulness and fertility for sheer efficiency. Christian media critics have often criticized Reuters for uninformed handling of the religion factor in their reporting. But whatever they know or don’t know about religion, Reuters editors should know their dictionaries.
