Wikipedia users edits over 90k uses of “comprised of”

Re:Wikipedia users edits over 90k uses of “comprised of” by pclmulqdq on Saturday May 06, 2023 @11:13AM (#35842135)

"Comprises" is frequently used in patent writing, but I have rarely seen it elsewhere. I think its use, both in patents and normal English, has a particular connotation, that "is comprised of" doesn't carry otherwise:

* When I hear "X comprises Y and Z," I think that the author is saying that X includes Y and Z as its key parts, but is not precluding the existence of other parts

* When I hear "X is comprised of Y and Z," I think Y and Z are the only parts of X

This might have originally been a misuse of the word "comprise" to mean "compose," but I feel like that's a pretty big distinction in meaning.

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Re:Wikipedia users edits over 90k uses of “comprised of” by FabHK on Sunday May 07, 2023 @09:14AM (#35851206)

Interesting. I think when an author says "X comprises Y and Z”, they assert precisely that Y and Z constitute X, that is, are the only parts of X. Otherwise the author should have written “X contains” or “X includes Y and Z”.

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