Monday, January 16, 2017

Using the hypothetical and non standard word "manywhere"


I have frequently used "manywhere" to describe "many places" instead of "everywhere".



  • In increasing order: nowhere < somewhere < manywhere < everywhere



It seems to be an elegant and logical solution to a missing language element, doesn't it? The following fictional dialog demonstrates my thinking. (This is not factual):




  • "Have you heard about the ritual of hanging a voodoo doll on buildings under construction to keep away negative energy?"


    "Yeah, I saw that somewhere in my home town of New York City."


    "Well in India, you can find that manywhere."


    "Manywhere?"


    "Yes. That's a logical word I made. Not everywhere. Many places have it! That better describes the meaning, does it not?"


    "Hmmm. I guess it does. I never really thought about it like that!"





Manywhere has some modern and historical usage:



So my questions are:



  • Why is this missing in English? What if someone wants to say more than somewhere but less than everywhere?

  • Are there situations when/where this word could be used?

  • What would be good/bad right/wrong effective/ineffective in "introducing" manywhere into standard English? (If one actually could do such a thing.)

  • I think it would be a great word! Am I missing something?

  • It seems to me that the opposite of somewhere (at some places) is manywhere (at many places) and NOT nowhere. It broadens the scope. Does that make sense?



(Credit to @CoolHandLouis for editing help.)




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