Is there such a word as consequentive?

[Oh Dear]

And why would you not just use the word consecutive?

[fredpuli47]

It's not in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

[Oh Dear]

Yes we know its not in the dictionary but the word is being used...ie Google etc

[DaisyMae]

I would say that the answer to your question is 'yes' since the word is in use it therefore becomes a valid word. However, that is not to say that it is either a good word or the only word to fit the circumstance. The Americans are very good at inventing words by adding endings to perfectly useable existing words. I think they are trying to re-invent the language so that they can call it American rather than English.

[Quizmonster]

Well, four centuries ago, British English certainly had consequentious which just used the ious ending rather than the parallel ive one . We clearly felt the need of such a word then and the Americans feel they do now. Good luck to 'em! I don't subscribe to the notion of a dreaded American linguistic conspiracy myself.

[Oh Dear]

I think this is going off track....Im not too concerned about its origins...just is it a correct English word and why would you use this word over the word consecutive? As in 'Reduced VAT is applicable after the 28th consequentive night'

[fredpuli47]

No it isn't (says he, dogmatically). The aim is to be clearly understood, without, if possible, seeming illiterate.Using a word which is not widely recognised or understood does not meet the first objective.

The fact that it's in neither the Shorter nor the full Oxford does not bar it from being a proper word but is evidence of it not being widely used.

As to the second objective, it seems to be a 'word' created accidentally by someone who meant 'consecutive'.

[jno]

I agree with Fredpuli - it sounds like a mistake. Consecutive is the word. Consequentious in the OED seems to mean having consequences or significant rather than simply one after another. And a lot of the uses on Google seem (though I may be wrong) to be by people whose first language isn't English.

[Quizmonster]

I didn't suggest that the two words were synonymous, J, but only that each had clearly been coined to fit a particular word-structure and to fill a need as perceived by somebody.
He/she may well have been misguided and the word superfluous, but once it exists it exists. We Brits clearly concluded that consequentious was unnecessary and dropped it, but even so it is still a word.
So is consequentive; it remains only to be seen whether it stands the test of time. If it does, it's 'correct'. I cannot imagine using it myself, but - if it is indeed an Americanism - its continued existence is up to them.

[Oh Dear]

Thank you all for your input....I agree with Fredpuli....try to use concise clear language...if you use words that are not widely used you run the risk of being thought of as an elitist or someone who has merely made a spelling error...Thank you once again.

[Mrs Y]

My understanding of the word consequentive is that it is used to describe events or numbers that do follow a pattern, but are not necessarily consecutive.

For example, you could refer to the Olympic Games held between 1988 and 2000 as being consecutive games, but they were held over consequentive years (1988, 1992, 1996 & 2000). They cannot be described as being held over consecutive years, as they were not.

Another example would be saying that last week we experienced five consequentive nights of minus zero temperatures; this could refer to two nights of -2, then one night of +1, followed by three nights of -2.

I believe this is the true meaning of the word but, as with so many of our words, it has become lost in translation over the years and is so rarely used nowadays that it is pretty much unheard of.

Hope that helps?

[Oh Dear]

Thank you...this helps as I now know the difference.