different between presence vs seldom

English

Alternative forms

• præsence (archaic)

Etymology

Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??z?ns/
• Hyphenation: pres?ence

Noun

presence (countable and uncountable, plural presences)

1. The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.

   • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

2. The part of space within one's immediate vicinity.

3. A quality of poise and effectiveness that enables a performer to achieve a close relationship with their audience.
4. A quality that sets an individual out from others; a quality that makes them noticed and/or admired even if they are not speaking or performing.

5. Something (as a spirit) felt or believed to be present.

6. A company's business activity in a particular market. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
7. (archaic) An assembly of great persons.
8. The state of being closely focused on the here and now, not distracted by irrelevant thoughts. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
9. (audio) Synonym of room tone

Antonyms

• absence

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

presence (third-person singular simple present presences, present participle presencing, simple past and past participle presenced)

1. (philosophy, transitive, intransitive) To make or become present.
   • 1985, David Edward Shaner, The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Study of K?kai and D?gen, page 59,

     Within a completely neutral horizon, the primordial continuous stream of experience is presenced without interruption. As this time, the past and future have no meaning apart from the now in which they are presenced.

   • 1998, H. Peter Steeves, Founding Community: A Phenomenological-Ethical Inquiry, page 59,

     Just as the bread and butter can be presenced as more than just the bread and the butter, so baking a loaf of bread can be more than just the baking, the baker, and the bread.

   • 2005, James Phillips, Heidegger's Volk: Between National Socialism and Poetry, Stanford University Press, ?ISBN (paperback), page 118,

     From the overtaxing of the regime's paranoiac classifications and monitoring of the social field, Heidegger was to await in vain the presencing of that which is present, the revelation of the Being of beings in its precedence to governmental control.

Related terms

• present
• presentation
• omnipresence

Further reading

• presence in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “presence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• presence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Alternative forms

• seldome (obsolete)

Etymology

From late Middle English seldom, alteration of earlier selden, from Old English seldan (“seldom”), from Proto-Germanic *seldan?. Cognate with Saterland Frisian säilden (“seldom”), West Frisian selden, komselden (“rare, seldom”), Dutch zelden, German selten, Danish sjælden, Norwegian sjelden, Swedish sällan, Faroese sjáldan, Icelandic sjaldan. More at seld and selly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?ld?m/

Adverb

seldom (comparative more seldom or seldomer, superlative most seldom or seldomest)

1. Infrequently, rarely.

   Synonyms: barely, hardly, rarely, scarcely, infrequently, seldomly; see also Thesaurus:occasionally

   Antonyms: often, frequently; see also Thesaurus:often

Usage notes

• It is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never. Compare he seldom ever plays tennis with he almost never plays tennis.
• The form seldomly, derived from the (now archaic) adjectival use, exists, but has not gained widespread acceptance.

Derived terms

• seldom or ever
• seldomtimes
• unseldom

Translations

Adjective

seldom (comparative more seldom or seldomer, superlative most seldom or seldomest)

1. (archaic) Rare; infrequent.

   Synonyms: geason, uncommon; see also Thesaurus:rare

   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     a suppressed and seldom anger

Derived terms

• seldomly
• seldomness

Related terms

• seld

Translations

Anagrams

• lesdom, models, somdel

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English seldan.

Adverb

seldom

1. Alternative form of selden (“seldom”)

Etymology 2

From Old English selden.

Adjective

seldom

1. Alternative form of selden (“uncommon”)