Pre?????

[mscallisto]

I was taught that pre means before, earlier, beforehand or in front etc.

What's a pre-owned car, is it really new?

What's pre-sliced cheese, the whole uncut block?

I could go on and on but the question is am I correct, or not?

 

[ESquared]

The two meanings of pre that I see getting used are

pre as in previous: previously-owned car.

pre as in before: before-being-owned car.

But it's an amusing thing to think about it. Pre-sliced cheese. I like that.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[Dimandja]

pre-owned car" is one of terms that should be made illegal. I see it as a feeble attempt at literacy.

 

[medic]

Yeah. Isn't "used car" a better term?

 

[mscallisto]

Pre-approved as in pre-approved loan.
Doesn't that mean before you have been approved?

As ESquared points out... Pre seems to be replacing Previously

 

[hilfy]

[editor hat]
Pre-owned
Pre-sliced

What you have is the prefix "pre" and a verb that has been modified with "-ed" to become an adjective. In this case, it means that the action of the verb was performed at a previous point in time....
[/editor hat]

 

[entaroadun]

'Pre-owned' is just a stupid marketing term. Over the years, 'used' acquired an association with lemons (I wonder why?). So a brilliant ad-man decided to use pre-owned instead of used.

The first time I heard the term was in a BMW commercial, as in "certified pre-owned". I guess in the US (where BMW is an upscale car), the type of person to buy a BMW would never buy a used one, but would be OK with a pre-owned one.

 

[ESquared]

Preowned" carries the subconscious good-feeling connotations of presliced, prewashed, preauthorized, preassembled, predicted... oh, not that one.

Do they really have to be spelled with a hyphen? (And would I call it a dash?)

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[entaroadun]

How about pre-approved?

I don't feel the subconscious good feeling... There must be something wrong with me.

 

[ESquared]

Maybe it's that aversion to debt we all try to cultivate in ourselves to prevent us from wrecking our lives.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[SQLSister]

Pre-approved is using the meaning of before rather loosely. In other words, the loan is approved before selecting the item to be purchased.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[JediBMC]

So, perhaps a pre-approved loan should be called an approved pre-loan approval? I tend to think, however, that the pre of pre-approved loan actaully modifies the term approved loan instead of just the term approved. Therefore, a pre-approved loan would be something that comes prior to the offering of an approved loan. Most, if not all, pre-approved loans or lines of credit still require a full application prior to the actual loan approval.

It still doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but when does our language?

-Brian-
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.

 

[LFI]

Speaking of 'pre-owned' vs. 'used'...

There is a shop near my use that advertises "Guaranteed Used Tires!" ...and I wonder: what will they give me if I take one home and find out it's actually a NEW tire?

--Dave