Timeline for What does "elicit" mean?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Jul 10, 2017 at 2:59 | history | edited | Luke Sawczak | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jul 10, 2017 at 2:49 | comment | added | Luke Sawczak | I'll certainly give credence to Webster. But I've encountered poor English from well-educated people. ;) Besides, an article goes through proofreaders and editors with less education. (PhD theses do too.) Plus, everyone makes production errors even if their comprehension is great, and no number of eyes is enough to keep out every error. The second paragraph of that article ends with the phrase "during the eight years Obama administration"! Anyhow, this isn't to say you aren't right about "elicit", just that a fantastic education is no guarantee of perfect English... even if it were in English. | |
| Jul 10, 2017 at 2:29 | comment | added | TimR | It should be noted about the author of the Forbes article: received his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University and has taught at Yale, Columbia, Virginia, and Georgetown. | |
| Jul 10, 2017 at 2:22 | comment | added | TimR | And you will find this in Webster's International Dictionary of the English Language; being the authentic edition of Websters Unabridged Dictionary comprising the issues of 1864, 1879, and 1884: E-lic'it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elicited ; p. pr. & vb.n. ELICITING.] To draw out or entice forth ; to bring to light ; to bring out against the will ; to deduce by reason or argument ; as, to elicit truth by discussion. | |
| Jul 10, 2017 at 1:02 | comment | added | Luke Sawczak | I agree; that adds another precedent to the interpretation it seems the author of the article meant. | |
| Jul 10, 2017 at 0:18 | comment | added | TimR | I concur that "to bring to the fore" is relatively rare when compared to the more usual meaning "to draw forth a response from someone". But the former meaning is well attested. It had its heyday in the mid 19th century. It is a little strange to find it in a Forbes article. Here is a very clear attestation where the verb is being used to mean "to bring into notice": books.google.com/… | |
| Jul 9, 2017 at 17:04 | history | answered | Luke Sawczak | CC BY-SA 3.0 |