Preventive or Preventative Maintenance

[wuneyej]

I've always said "preventative maintenance" but I feel like I'm in the minority. Is it just a matter of preference, or is one seen as more proper than the other?

Greatness is best measured by one's willingness to be kind.

 

[Dimandja]

They are interchangeable. Although, long ago, “Preventative” was an adjective and “preventive” was a noun.

 

[RodKnowlton]

I prefer to call it "prophylactic maintenance".

But then, I'm a bit of a troublemaker.

Rod Knowlton
IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert pSeries and AIX 5L
CompTIA Linux+
CompTIA Security+

 

[SQLSister]

Pre*vent"a*tive (?), n. That which prevents; -- incorrectly used instead of preventive.

This is another of those words which has been misused so much that it is now considered correct. Personally I prefer preventive anyway as it is shorter.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[ESquared]

I, too, like preventive. I can see that it is constructed from prevent and -ive. But I don't see a rational explanation for prevent -at -ive.

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• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k

 

[CajunCenturion]

I'd like to know about long ago, when preventative was an adjective and preventive was a noun.

How long ago was that? What references can you provide to expound on that history?

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[edfair]

Preventative, from the 1961 to 1965 timeframe, because my "Field Manager" continually berated me for not doing enough of it.
The engineers that designed the equipment strongly suggested a specific duration between PMs and I liked to clean things out getting into them and lubing them on the way out. Didn't matter that the machines under my care generally took less maintenance time per period than the national average, but that I had failed to fill out the PM card to verify that I had done the required maintenance.

And the designers would have been totally shocked to find that 3 of their machines went 28 years for 3 shifts without their mandantory crap.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[wuneyej]

It makes sense that "preventive" would be more acceptable. Damn, this will be a hard habit for me to break. Thanks for the input.


Greatness is best measured by one's willingness to be kind.

 

[Dimandja]

I'd like to know about long ago, when preventative was an adjective and preventive was a noun.

How long ago was that? What references can you provide to expound on that history?

I knew you would vehemently demand references. So, scroll down this page.

 

[ESquared]

I vehemently demand references, too! Don't leave me out!!! I just let CC do the work of asking for it.



-------------------------------------
• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k

 

[Dimandja]

 

[CajunCenturion]

I wasn't aware that I was asking vehemently. I was simply curious since all of my available references indicated both words interchangeable for over 300 years. None made that distinction, so thanks for the reference.

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

 

[ESquared]

They are interchangeable. Although, long ago, “Preventative” was an adjective and “preventive” was a noun.

Well, this is true but misleading. The source you cited claimed these not as stand-alone facts, but in opposition to the notion that preventative is a noun and preventive is an adjective. A more complete statement would be that they have both been used as adjective and noun since the 17th century.

-------------------------------------
• Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.
• It is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the k