On Mon, 1 Nov 2010 16:56:12 -0600, Steve Comstock wrote:
>
>> Nor did he describe the OP as "naïve."  He said that the OP was
>> "a naïf."
>
>No. He said: "They are radically naif.", speaking of the OP's
>questions.
>
> > These two words are not synonymous.  Naïve is an adjective
> > and naïf is a noun, as he used it.
>
>No. He used "naif" as an adjective, and did not include the
>diaeresis. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary says:
>
>Definition of NAÏF: naive
>
>Variants of NAÏF
>  na·ïf
>  na·if
>
Pardon my French, but is this merely a distinction of
gender (and typography)?  Google tells me for:

    she is naive; he is naive

    qu'elle est naïve, il est naïf

And no one has until now taken Mr. Gilmore to task for
disingenuously (in my perception) pouncing upon Sam Siegel's
typo.  I suppose there must be a (self-appointed) enforcer
of Muphry's Law.

-- gil

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