Opposites - not 1

[tsdragon]

The other day I heard some use the phrase "fictional and factional". I had to do a double-take. While "factional is a word, it is not the opposite of "fictional". That word is "factual". I'm still not sure if it was simply a slip-up or if he actually thought that was correct.


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[MakeItSo]

I can't get nooooo science faction!

I guess, this guy in fact applied it as a wordplay. Perhaps he wasn't aware of the meaning of "factional", which is something like "siding with one political party", right?

I also have sometimes used the word "date" instead of "appointment", which of course can be easily misunderstood... ) No, I never have dates with my boss...

[blue]An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[Grenage]

I can't find the word factional in my dictionary!

 

[CajunCenturion]

You might want to look under the word 'faction' and see if factional is shown as the corresponding adjective.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[CajunCenturion]

This reminds of a previous discussion on the misuse or misspelling of words. In the previous discussion, if I remember correctly, the words were climatic and climactic. I thought the right word was being used and in the right context, but it was simply misspelled - leaving out the 'c'. Unfortunately, that spelling error resulted in a different word. In this case however, I think it I think word misuse is more likely the case. I don't think this can be attributed to a spelling error.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[strongm]

I'm not sure it is a misuse. Maybe it is only a UK thing, but I'm pretty familiar with 'factional' being used to describe a form of fiction that is based on and about a factual event or events. The current film about Hitler, "Downfall", could therefore be described as factional.

Simply setting a film in a factual period wouldn't make it factional (e.g. The Guns of Naverone)

 

[tsdragon]

Now that's a usage of the word factional that I had never heard before. The closest corresponding American word I can think of is "docudrama".

I don't think that usage applies in this case thought, since it implies a variety of fiction, not the opposite of fiction. (Remember, I said the word was being used in the context of them being opposites.)


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[SilentAiche]

It may well be UK thing - I haven't heard (in the U.S.) the term "factional" used to describe a form of fiction based on factual events.

However, the possibilties are endless, as well as confusing. Would 1/3 of a scrape be fractional or frictional?

Should the transmission of electronic mail be considered [blue]emotional[/blue]?

Tim

[blue]_____________________________________________________
If you need immediate assistance, please raise your hand.
If you are outside of Raleigh, raise your hand and say[/blue] [red]Ooh! Ooh![/red]

 

[SantaMufasa]

First, I am a member of a faction that believes that "factional" is, in fact, a fictional antonym for "fictional", even in the UK.

Here is Merriam-Webster's treatment, including the adjective, "factional" (

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=faction&x=12&y=8):

Main Entry: fac·tion
Pronunciation: 'fak-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin faction-, factio act of making, faction -- more at FASHION
1 : a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking : CLIQUE
2 : party spirit especially when marked by dissension
- fac·tion·al /-shn&l, -sh&-n&l/ adjective
- fac·tion·al·ism /-shn&-"li-z&m, -sh&-n&l-"iz-/ noun
- fac·tion·al·ly /-E/ adverb

I would be fascinated to see a dictionary source that indicated some definition for "factional" besides what Webster offers, above.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[strongm]

Er ... the first entry at dictionary.com when you do a search for faction ...

 

[strongm]

(which cites the American Heritage dictionary as its source, so perhaps not as UK-centric as I thought it might be)

 

[CajunCenturion]

Thank you strongm. That is a new one for me.

Even with that definition, I wouldn't consider it an antonym of fictional. It seems to lie in between fictional and factual.

I am now on a quest to find the first documented usage of faction².

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[strongm]

>I wouldn't consider it an antonym of fictional

Oh, I agree

 

[ESquared]

Yesterday's entry from The Wordsmith's A Word A Day (AWAD)

roman a clef (ro-mahn ah KLAY) noun, plural romans a clef

A novel that depicts (usually famous) real people and events
under the guise of fiction.

[From French roman à clef, literally, a novel with a key.]

All fiction has a grain of truth, but a roman a clef has it by the
bushel. Roman a clef dates back to seventeenth century France. In the
beginning, a roman a clef really did have a key that was published
separately. In these times, you can simply go on the Internet and
search using Google. An example of roman a clef is Ernest Hemingway's
The Sun Also Rises.

These days the term can apply to any work of fiction, for example, a movie,
not just a novel. A blend term "faction" has also been used, after "fact"
presented as "fiction".

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:

http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=roman+a+clef

"[Geraldine] Brooks has borrowed details not just from Little Women but
from the story of Alcott's own extraordinary father, Bronson Alcott,
a man whose freethinking, utopian views were all downplayed in his
daughter's roman a clef."
Michelle Griffin; March; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Apr 2, 2005.

 

[Thadeus]

Erik - I get the idea Anu reads this forum for fodder.

~Thadeus

 

[SkipVought]

Maybe factional would apply to Michael Moore "Documentaries," as he affirms...

"I can guarantee to you, without equivocation, that every fact in my movie is true.

Skip,

_{[red]Be advised:[/red]When Viscounts were guillotined just as they were disclosing where their jewels were hidden, it shows to go that you should...
Never hatchet your Counts before they chicken!}

 

[ESquared]

tautology, anyone?

 

[Thadeus]

Skip and Erik - Missing a certain forum? Please avoid such controversial subjects... cause I'm just itchin' to get into it with you both on this topic and this is not the forum for such.

~Thadeus

 

[lespaul]

yes we are all missing a "certain" forum!!!

 

[ESquared]

There's dispute about "every fact is true" being a tautology?

I don't miss that "certain" forum at all.