Talk:vinegar

ill temper; vitality

2. sourness or ill-tempered behavior or speech 
3. exuberant energy and enthusiasm 
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

--Backinstadiums (talk) 11:09, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

On the reversal of an edit removing some Greek translations of vinegar.

The proper etymological spelling of vinegar in Standar Modern Greek is «ξίδι». The spellings «ξύδι» and «ξείδι» are etymologically wrong, but have been used throughout the history of the Greek language. I do not see the point of the removal of «ξίδι» and «ξείδι», especially since the first one the the etymologically correct form. Therefore, I undid the edit removing them. Παραλλάξιος (talk) 18:04, 21 April 2022 (UTC)

@Παραλλάξιος, Sarri.greek I hope that you will forgive the changes which I will make.

• Given your explanation, and while «ξύδι» is the most commonly found everyday form, perhaps «ξίδι» should be the Greek translation here. I believe that it is most helpful to the dictionary user to have ONE translation, which they can follow to find alternative forms, synonyms, etc. a place where they will find etymological explanations, usages, and so on.
• BUT I would still argue that, where the frequency of the "etymologically correct" spelling is very low, the much more commonly used form is the one which should be found there. This will be the most useful for anyone seeking the "best" Greek word.
• This is a policy which I have tried to apply to SMG translations, of course in a language not my own I may choose the wrong "one word"! — Saltmarsh^🢃 06:22, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

@Saltmarsh, Παραλλάξιος I would write {{t+|ξίδι|n}} or perhaps {{t+|ξίδι|n}} / (ξύδι) (Link to the main lemma, the spelling given by all dictionaries, plus a popular spelling but given only as a script. True: I went to my kitchen and checked my «ξίδι», and the label writes «ξύδι».).

It is a matter of policy (Wiktionary:Neutral_point_of_view), and how every wiktionary conceives what is 'non prescriptive, but descriptive dictionary'. This is difficult to apply in certain languages like greek. A second criterion would be the 'best help for the readers'.

As Saltmarsh says, the Translations Section, gives the main lemma, where one can find all the variations. An exception might be considered for some words.

E.g. alternatives: both as links at mixture {{t+|μείγμα|n}} / {{t+|μίγμα|n}} because the double spelling has always been the situation for this word

But only the main lemma e.g. at beer {{t+|μπίρα|n}} while the very popular «μπύρα» is mentioned at the lemma μπίρα. Similary at lemma ξίδι the spellings ξύδι/ξείδι should be mentioned as popular misspellings.

By the way, I object to the title 'Alternative forms'. A better title for this section should have been 'Other forms' or, occasionally, 'Other spellings'. The word 'alternative' can be very misleading for a reader who is trying to learn a word, not its misspelling, even if it is a popular one.

PS ξινό is a totally different thing (citirc acid). ‑‑Sarri.greek ^♫ I 11:04, 22 April 2022 (UTC)