let's get liseuse recognized as a real word

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

eReader is already in use. eReader is the program that handles eReader format eBooks.

Yep, but personally I don't care.
I like 'eReader' for the device, and I'm gonna stick with it.

[Sweetpea]

And I'll stick with book.

Just this morning, I got reminded on this thread again. We were laying in bed and I said to my husband: you're laying on my book. Not ebook, not ebook reader, not JE100, never liceuse (he never even heard of that word), but simply "book". Most of the time, I even call my PDA my book.

Oh, personally, I think we should all stick with book. If we make a new word for it, it'll only show to those "other" people (the ones that don't read electronically) that there is a step to take if you want to read ebooks instead of pbooks. At one point, in the future, there shouldn't be made a difference what you're reading, a paper book or an electronic book. You're reading a book.

[Krystian Galaj]

Personally I hope the word 'liseuse' will not be widely used. It doesn't sound to me like anything in any connection with an ebook reading device, and when I think it, it comes out as a "foxy", cheating, bad word. Perhaps that's because it sounds (to me) very similar to several bad words in my native language ( Polish ).

Not that I'm going to do anything about it - but I agree that it's most probable that they'll be called kindles. It's still not a perfect choice to me, but sounds much better than liseuse too.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

The word Liseuse has been used here on MR since 18 February 2008. I think it's time we made a sincere effort to get it recognized as a real word. I have a Wikipedia page started here. I also submitted it to the Urban Dictionary.

I'm going to go see how to submit it to the OED.

It is a "real word" - a real French word, not an English one. English already has an entirely satisfactory phrase, "eBook Reader". Why do you want to adopt a foreign word?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

ahem. do you speak french ? "liseuse" has several definitions. *one* of them is a reading lamp (and not just any "bright light"). it *also* means a hardware device for reading ebooks on.

Can you give us a dictionary reference to that second usage?

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by HarryT

...English already has an entirely satisfactory phrase, "eBook Reader".

Or "eReader" - which is even more entirely satisfactory imho.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Or "eReader" - which is even more entirely satisfactory imho.

Too confusing eReader

[Who are you?]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you give us a dictionary reference to that second usage?

http://www.mediadico.com/dictionnair.../LISEUSE/parle defines it as:

• Book cover
• Bookmark
• The clothing piece for around the shoulders
• Small light

http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/liseuse defines it as:

• Bookmark
• Book cover
• Clothing
• Table for magazines and books
• Reading light
• Woman who reads

I've also seen it defined as a desk that has a stand you can set your book against and as a digital reading device, but couldn't find dictionary references for those.

At least it is clear that using liseuse is far more confusing than ereader, as ereader only has two meanings.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Who are you?

I've also seen it defined as a desk that has a stand you can set your book against

The equivalent English word for this is "lecturn" (sometimes spelt "lectern").

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Too confusing eReader

I don't think so. I've not had anyone in real life confuse ereader, the device, with ereader, the format. In fact, in my experience, people who have only a passing knowledge of such devices appear to have adopted 'ereader' as their preferred name.

But another point is that 'ereader' as a name for a format is unlikely to have a lengthy lifespan anyway.
The word will be more useful, and permanent, as a name for the device imho.

In the end, the right name will emerge naturally - it might be 'ereader', it might not; time will tell.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I don't think so. I've not had anyone in real life confuse ereader, the device, with ereader, the format.

We have actually had a number of people here who have bought "eReader" format books in the mistaken believe that they would be usable on their Sony Readers, etc. I really don't like the word, but I accept that it is becoming the de facto word for a reading device.

[AprilHare]

I don't know if anyone has pointed this out already, but the word liseuse is already in use in English. A liseuse desk is nothing new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liseuse_desk

[Over]

I prefer "ereader", short for "electronic reader". It's the obvious and most correct choice. Also, it has a direct translation to the portuguese nomenclature: "leitor electrónico". Although we don't say "eLeitor" or "LeitorE".

The import of the french word is completely efemerous, it's just adding another name to the currently used, complicating everything.

So I decide: from now on, "ereader" is the official word!

[GeneS]

Given the number of existing definitions for "liseuse" , the term ereader seems much more descriptive and much less confusing. Even if a commercial product exists, it would be no less confusing than "Xerox" when referring to the actual photocopy ... or fridge (short for "Frigidaire") for refrigerator.

ereader gets my vote.

[Nate the great]

Except that ereader is a specific ebook format.