Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term
apparent
I never know with the word apparent... Does it mean here that it is 'visible'/ 'obvious' or perhaps 'seeming; appearing as such but not necessarily so'? I'd say that the first option...
| 4 +9 | seeming |
Charles Davis
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| 4 +4 | appearing as such but not necessarily so; seeming |
John Holland
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Dec 21, 2013 22:52: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (2): Yvonne Gallagher, Edith Kelly
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Responses
seeming
First, when "apparent" is preposed or prenominal, it usually means seeming; when it means evident or obvious it will usually occur in the form "X was/is apparent".
Second, and perhaps most persuasively, "apparent contagion" is an established expression contrasted with "true contagion", and it can also be known as "spurious contagion". See here, for example:
"True versus Apparent Contagion"
http://books.google.es/books?id=d6BTfLBbxjcC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA...
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Note added at 15 mins (2013-12-09 07:31:33 GMT)
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In the case of anorexia nervosa, this meaning seems more likely anyway. In the nature of this illness it will be difficult to establish clear and obvious contagion; it will usually be a case of circumstantial indications that suggest the possibility of contagion but do not establish it as something obvious.
However, I do not understand it as meaning "spurious" here. It seems to me that the writer is not definitely implying that the appearance of contagion is false.
appearing as such but not necessarily so; seeming
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/apparent
"Usage Note: Used before a noun, apparent means "seeming": For all his apparent wealth, Pat had no money to pay the rent. Used after a form of the verb be, however, apparent can mean either "seeming" (as in His virtues are only apparent) or "obvious" (as in The effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields). One should take care that the intended meaning is clear from the context."
The test here is an example of the first instance: "contagion" is a noun.
Additionally, the context is about uncertain finding and observations rather than obvious explanations of experience. Finding of studies have "varied greatly"; in clinical practice, it is "not uncommon" (note the double negative), to find what seem to be relevant cases.
There is a nice play of words in the English though: "apparent" cases of "a parent" (i.e. mothers) doing something.
| agree |
Parvathi Pappu
: agree
1 hr
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Thanks, paru72
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
1 hr
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Thanks, gallagy2
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| agree |
Jörgen Slet
2 hrs
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Thanks, Jörgen
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| agree |
Olga Cartlidge
11 hrs
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Thanks, Olga
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