LinguoLog by NUA Languages

An "avocation" is one's hobby, while a "vocation" is their regular occupation or calling.

One can't help wondering how much is lost in translation from one language into the other...

Example:  They did it all together.

Example:  Every one of us will donate $100 to the XYZ Foundation.

Yet again, they do not mean the same.  "To censor" is cut portions of (a publication, a movie, etc.) to prevent it from reaching a wide audience.  "To censure" is to express harsh criticism.

The word "isle" sounds so similar to "island" that one is easily misled into believing it's short for the latter.  In fact, these words are etymologically unrelated.  While "isle" derives from the Latin word "īnsula" (meaning "island"), "island" comes from the Old English "īegland."

The English word "rare" means "uncommon", while the Spanish "raro" and Dutch "raar" mean "strange."

Unless you believe you can rejoice someone to a higher position, "exulted to a higher position" doesn't make much sense either.  "Exalted" would be the word to use instead.  While "to exult" means to rejoice or to be jubilant, "to exalt" is to elevate.

No, "peremptory" (in other words, "imperative") has nothing to do with the verb "to preempt" (meaning "to appropriate before others").  If you wanted to turn "preempt" into an adjective, you would say "preemptive."

joyous or carefree.

Anything you can buy is "for sale," but if something is "on sale," it means that the price has been lowered.

This cake is pretty expensive, 6 EUR a piece. (meaning "for a piece")

Some folks get upset whenever they hear somebody say "I feel good" rather than "I feel well."  Yet, it is perfectly correct to answer "good" when asked how you are.  "To feel good" is to feel happy, and "to feel well' is to be in good health.

A sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet.

The definite article is also required before the name of the capital of the Netherlands (The Hague), as well as before a few other smaller cities and towns (such as The Dalles, OR) and the New York City borough of The Bronx.

So which one should you use?  Although "deep-seeded" seems to make sense, "deep-seated" is the correct word, which means "deeply rooted" or "firmly held."  It comes from horseback riding and has nothing to do (at least etymologically) with an idea or belief being deeply planted. 

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.