RE: lifecycle or life-cycle or life cycle

["Ron Hearn" <RHearn -at- cucbc -dot- com>]

In the beginning, there was "data base" which morphed to just
"database".

Ron


-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+rhearn=cucbc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+rhearn=cucbc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Susan W. Gallagher
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 9:59 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: lifecycle or life-cycle or life cycle

What ever happened to the natural evolution of language? A compound
generally starts open (life cycle), migrates to hyphenated (life-cycle),
and
ends up closed (lifecycle). Many of us have been in the business long
enough
to remember when online help was on-line help or even "on line" help.
Jeesh,
when I was a kid, there was a hyphen in cooperation!

To quote CMS 14 (sorry, 15 is at work and I'm home), para 6.38:
---begin quote---
For some years now, the trend in spelling compound words has been away
from
the use of hyphens. There seems to be a tendency to spell compounds
solid as
soon as acceptance warrants their being considered permanent compounds,
and
otherwise to spell them open. This is a trend, not a rule, but it is
sometimes helpful, when deciding how to spell some new combination, to
remember that the trend exists.
---end quote---

So, if you believe that the two words "life" and "cycle" are a temporary
compound (and that all the fuss about it in the software industry is
just a
flash in the pan <g>), leave them open. If, however, you think that
lifecycle has earned the title of permanent compound in your industry,
spell
it closed.

HTH!
-Sue Gallagher



> An intelligent, literate reader will wonder whether by "lifecycle" the
> writer intended something different from "life cycle", and, if not,
then
> why the writer didn't use the standard English noun. Is it because the
> writer didn't know any better and couldn't be arsed to look it up in a
> proper dictionary? Is it because of a misprint? Is there a missing
> paragraph somewhere that would have explained the similarities and
> differences between a life cycle and a "lifecycle"?

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