Here's a not-so-common question of usage that I ran across several weeks ago. I was working on the same project with another seasoned editor, and we did not agree on which usage was correct in the context of the material at hand. Our disagreement just goes to show, there are very few hard-and-fast rules in the English language. Much is up to interpretation.

Recur and reoccur is a classic case of interpretation--not of basic definition, but of fine shades of meaning, personal preference, and what usually happens in common use. In general, the words recur and reoccur mean the same thing, "to happen again." Here are what a few sources have to say about the words:

Webster's New World Dictionary (2003 edition)

recur: to return in thought, talk, etc.
reoccur: [no definition listed. Under occur: to be found; exist]

Dictionary.com

recur: to occur again, as an event, experience, etc.
reoccur: [no definition listed. Under occur: to happen; take place; come to pass]

The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition)

[no usage recommendation listed]

The AP Stylebook (2004 edition)

recur, recurred, recurring
Not reoccur.

The Free Online Dictionary

recur: to happen, come up, or show up again or repeatedly
reoccur: to happen, take place, or come about again

Clearly, both words have a history and are (or, at some point, were) considered to be proper usage. But the mere fact that... Click here to read the rest of this post at the Sunny Words Blog.

The Sunny Words Blog is authored by VAF member AnnaLisa of Sunny Words Writing Services.


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