What's the difference between "peel" and "unpeel"?
"peel" and "unpeel"
- Thread starter Wang Jing
- Start date
That's easy, "unpeel" is not a word.
However, unpeeled is a word meaning "not peeled".
However, unpeeled is a word meaning "not peeled".
Hello Wang Jing, and welcome to WordReference.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that you will find peel in all good dictionaries.
I can't find an entry for unpeel in the WordReference dictionary, the OED, Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.
Although unpeel is used, it seems not to have made its way into the records
I think this is a shame because unpeel has a sense of discovery that peel lacks.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that you will find peel in all good dictionaries.
I can't find an entry for unpeel in the WordReference dictionary, the OED, Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.
Although unpeel is used, it seems not to have made its way into the records
I think this is a shame because unpeel has a sense of discovery that peel lacks.
If unpeel ever were to become a word, it would have to mean "putting a sheath back on to something/to resheath".
Neither can I find "unpeel" in dictionaries, but I found it in Google
Plant Pathologists Unpeel Rumors of Banana Extinction.
Easy to install, use a thin screwdriver to edge up the old screen, then just unpeel and remove it and re-stick the new screen back into place.
Prepare to unpeel the super-sized satsuma.
The "I" voice's desire to unpeel the layers of social convention that cloud her life is evident in "White/ Godiva, I unpeel---/ Dead hands, dead stringencies." .
Plant Pathologists Unpeel Rumors of Banana Extinction.
Easy to install, use a thin screwdriver to edge up the old screen, then just unpeel and remove it and re-stick the new screen back into place.
Prepare to unpeel the super-sized satsuma.
If we relied on everything we find on Google, we could throw away our dictionaries.
I agree, Google is for the hoi polloi, whereas debate on modern English usage is for the educated.
My teacher told me: When English written in dictionary, it is dead.
Dictionaries can't catch up.
Dictionaries can't catch up.
This word "unpeel" appears in a poet, Ariel , written by Sylvia Plath, an American poet.
I guess it's not for hoi polloi?
I guess it's not for hoi polloi?
I second, third, fourth and fifth that, NZF.
Incidentally, I have no objection to unpeel ~ it makes more sense than peel. (Not that sense is everything.)
cf. sheathe = to put a sheath on; unsheathe = to take a sheath off. (I'm sure there are a zillion others, but this is the only one that comes to mind at the moment.)
If we relied on everything we find on Google, we could throw away our dictionaries.
Is anyone suggesting that we rely on Google? I think not. As a reasonable debate on modern English usage, the emergence of unpeel can be supported by well-chosen examples - wherever found.
There is no need for unpeel to mean the reverse of peel. Didn't we have a very recent thread about ravel and unravel? We did, yesterday
ravel = unravel
On the other hand, it is much too glib to declare that English written in a dictionary is dead. That kind of superficial comment is not at all helpful. You only have to look through a few pages of these forums to discover that dictionaries of all kinds are actively documenting the evolution of English.
It is equally glib and superficial to declare that "Google is for the hoi polloi."
"To unpeel" means to put the peel back on, or to remove the peel?
Anyway, it seems that native speakers have disagreement about that.
Anyway, it seems that native speakers have disagreement about that.
Perhaps `Dictionaries cannot keep up` mentioned by your teacher refers to the internet and it`s rapid growth.
I am reminded of the song `Unbreak my Heart`....in explanation it took some time in a junior English lesson whereas Unexplained and Unpredictable were understood.....undoubtedly.
I am reminded of the song `Unbreak my Heart`....in explanation it took some time in a junior English lesson whereas Unexplained and Unpredictable were understood.....undoubtedly.
Wang Jing, Its `peel` that we must concentrate on here.
`the peel` being something you can see and hold.
`to peel` being an action.
`unpeel` to my mind, is not a reverse action.
Hope this helps.
`the peel` being something you can see and hold.
`to peel` being an action.
`unpeel` to my mind, is not a reverse action.
Hope this helps.
Perhaps, Wang, the best we can hope for here is to have the native speakers agree that peel/unpeel is a thorny question.
[This apple is thin-peeled = This apple has a thin peel which is still on it.
This apple has been thinly peeled = This apple has had its (thick?) peel removed in thin slices.
As I've said before and will no doubt say again: I'm glad I'm not learning English!]
There is discussion, at the level of analysing the word and its construction, in which two opposite meanings are suggested. Amongst those who use the word, and those who hear or read it, I am sure there is no misunderstanding.
I'm surprised that "unpeel" hasn't yet reached the dictionaries panj mentioned.
I'd certainly be happy to use it, normally with a slightly different meaning from "peel" (removing a layer or layers, rather than removing 'peel' as such). If it's good enough for the Oxford University Press, it's good enough for me!
Loob
I'd certainly be happy to use it, normally with a slightly different meaning from "peel" (removing a layer or layers, rather than removing 'peel' as such). If it's good enough for the Oxford University Press, it's good enough for me!
Loob
Hello Wang Jing, and welcome to WordReference.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that you will find peel in all good dictionaries.
I can't find an entry for unpeel in the WordReference dictionary, the OED, Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.
Although unpeel is used, it seems not to have made its way into the records
I think this is a shame because unpeel has a sense of discovery that peel lacks.
I'm quite surprised that "unpeel" is not in the OED, because it is in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. The "un-" in "unpeel" is not the negating prefix of "unsung" or "unbelievable," but a different prefix, one derived from Old English "and-," meaning "against." The latter prefix is the one in "unfold" and "unhand," and in a word mentioned elsewhere in this thread, "unravel."
The definition given for "unpeel" in Webster's Third is "to remove an outer covering (as bark, a rind, or a peel) from."
I may be wrong about the OED, I don't have full access just now.
Later:
I just got at the full OED and there it is, with examples from 1904 onwards.
Sorry about any confusion caused by earlier posts.
Later:
I just got at the full OED and there it is, with examples from 1904 onwards.
Sorry about any confusion caused by earlier posts.
It *is* there, panj, in the online version, with examples dating from 1904 and including the splendid:
a1914 in Penguin Bk. Austral. Ballads (1964) 122 Then the sheila raced off squealin', And her clothes she was un-peelin'.
So we can relax: "unpeel" has existed for at least a century...
Loob
EDIT: oh, I see panj found it at the same time I did
It takes time for a new English dictionary to be accessible in China, so the dictionary I am using now may be a little out of date.
Then, what's the difference between "peel" and "unpeel"?
Then, what's the difference between "peel" and "unpeel"?
Without the allegedly moribund words in the dictionary to act as a brake, the great deal of erroneous junk to be found on google would encourage an even more undesirably rapid change in the language. Btw, whereas unpeel applied to a banana (or a stripper) doesn't sound too bad, I don't think you could do it to a potato - only peel.
Personally, I would use "peel" specifically for the action of taking the 'peel' off an orange, banana etc.
I might use "unpeel" for this action; but I'd be more likely to use it for removing a layer (or layers) of something else - plastic, paper, clothing...
Loob
"Peel" has intransitive uses, "unpeel," at least according to Webster's Third, does not. "Peel" has senses which do not concern removing peels or other coverings (Webster's Third shows a use of the verb in the game of croquet, for example). "Unpeel" is restricted to the sense of removing peels or other coverings.
Most importantly, "unpeel" is rare compared to "peel," and many English speakers are likely to mistake it for an error, for example, thinking it is a double negative (which it emphatically is not). I would advise anyone learning English as a second language to learn it as part of their passive vocabulary only (that is, understand what it means but do not use it themselves).
Languages are always confusing. Teachers told us that we should notice shades of meanings between words. Whereas very often we can just feel the difference but can't say it. Or there are too many to be known.
I love the term `shades of meanings` and would applaud the teacher that used the term. Rest assured, you appear to be receiving quality tuition.
I have peeled off this reply quite quickly.
I have peeled off this reply quite quickly.