a pointless point...?

[dannyday5821]

heres something totally random and pointless to think about...but still an interesting question i think...

why do we have more than one way of something, when something else means exactly same thing - for example, whats the point of having the word centuary, when 100 years is the same thing! i mean, its not like, saying 100 years is gonna put you out of breath whereas centuary saves you the extra bit of air to say years!? lol :P

why say 4 when we can 2+2? why say 50% when we can say half? or...to go crazy...why say anything!? (im been stupid now!) but does anyone see where im coming from? good luck (or should i say fortune!?) in appeasing my pointless curiosity...! :)

[stewey]

Why do I have to put a question mark at the end of this sentence? We all know that it's a question.

[figure]

Why do birds fly and fishes swim and dogs bark and ... and ... why oh why?

[dannyday5821]

duh! i didnt ask "why" as a stand alone question! i asked...

"why do we have more than one word for something that means the same thing?"

i mean - any simpler?

sorry - am in sacastic mode tonight!

[jojojojoanne]

ways/needs that have evolved/remained over time to assist communication/humanity?

[Octavius]

To a point you are right to wonder. But when you are talking about many centuries, it would be far more time-wasting to say many hundred years, or in saying one hundred and fifty years instead of a century and a half. The word century comes from Latin cent meaning �one hundred� with �ury� loosely turning it into �consecutive years�. So in some respects it is why some people say the 1400�s or the 15th C (early or late). It defines an era either way.

Prior to the 18th Century (or 1700�s) though, �hundred� could mean anything up to 120, depending whether it was a small, long or great hundred. This all comes down to the evolution of Centum-Satem, so embrace our modern language.

Apparently � it may be a myth � but I have heard that the Japanese have over a hundred words for the word �early�.

[YvonneM]

Why do americans say at this moment in time instead of now

[tiggerblue10]

Isn't the English language made up of many languages including Greek, Latin and some French. Therefore, there may be more than one way of saying or expressing things.

[THECORBYLOON]

The word "century" can refer to a period wi a specific start and a specific end e.g. the Twentieth Century 1.1.1901-31.12.2000 whereas a hundred years could be a period ending to-day. In cricket, a century means a hundred runs and not a hundred years.