Talk:electoral college
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RFV[edit]
The following discussion has been moved from Wiktionary:Requests for verification.
This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.
Rfv-sense: uncountable, US. I don't see how this is uncountable. There might be a proper name that does not have a plural, but is it normal English to say "too much/little electoral college"? If that is OK, doesn't it apply to the first sense, too, which leaves us with no difference between the senses. DCDuring TALK 22:58, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
- I feel like the second sense was an attempt to cover the proper noun. I would just move it to a new ===Proper noun=== POS section. - -sche (discuss) 23:05, 12 November 2012 (UTC)
- Agree with both. Not uncountable but proper. DAVilla 06:49, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- Neither Electoral College nor electoral college appears to be the proper name, except as a nickname, for the college of electors of the president of the US. I'm not sure that such a proper name exists. The US Constitution and the US Code refer variously to the electoral college and college of electors. I suppose it is only with the decline of the use of college other than in reference to education and learning that this has become a set phrase. Its apparent existence as an institution (or "process", as it is defined in some dictionaries) seems to make folks sometimes want to capitalize the words in the set phrase. To me it seems like calling University a proper name because it is used to refer to any number of specific universities. DCDuring TALK 13:42, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- I think (as you say) this has become a set phrase. A term/phrase needn't be official to be a proper noun. In turn, I think if it's how the term is used in US English, that's sufficiently broad usage to merit a sense, whereas phrases like "I head back to [the] University next week" and "I went to the store this morning" do not suggest that [[University]] needs to be defined as my local uni, or [[store]] as my local store. - -sche (discuss) 19:14, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- I have edited both the RfVed sense at [[electoral college]] and [[Electoral College]] in line with this discussion and my understanding of the facts. I think most people are referring to the overall process any specific existent Electoral College (51 in total). Many people definitely believe that there is a single Electoral College that meets to formally elect the president and vice-president. DCDuring TALK 21:11, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- I think (as you say) this has become a set phrase. A term/phrase needn't be official to be a proper noun. In turn, I think if it's how the term is used in US English, that's sufficiently broad usage to merit a sense, whereas phrases like "I head back to [the] University next week" and "I went to the store this morning" do not suggest that [[University]] needs to be defined as my local uni, or [[store]] as my local store. - -sche (discuss) 19:14, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- Neither Electoral College nor electoral college appears to be the proper name, except as a nickname, for the college of electors of the president of the US. I'm not sure that such a proper name exists. The US Constitution and the US Code refer variously to the electoral college and college of electors. I suppose it is only with the decline of the use of college other than in reference to education and learning that this has become a set phrase. Its apparent existence as an institution (or "process", as it is defined in some dictionaries) seems to make folks sometimes want to capitalize the words in the set phrase. To me it seems like calling University a proper name because it is used to refer to any number of specific universities. DCDuring TALK 13:42, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
- I've edited the definitions further. Unless anyone has further suggestions, I think the articles are fine now nad the request can be marked as resolved. - -sche (discuss) 21:15, 14 May 2013 (UTC)