You know what word bothers me? “Commentator.” That is, one who gives a commentary.
I mean, why is it not just “commenter?” Why the extraneous syllable? Following the use of “commentator,” why shouldn’t an interpreter be an “interpretator?”
Because it sounds ridiculous, that’s why! Unfortunately, “commentator” is already entrenched — it’s in the dictionary, and Googling for it yields over 13 million results (that’s the true test of English word usage, naturally). It’s too late for me to do anything about commentator except rant about it on my blog. Oh, well.
Gratuitous baby photo:
Watching the baseball playoffs a few days ago, a similar thought occurred to me: Why are the Oakland Athletics not just the Athletes? The world may never know…Although I bet I could find a commentator to ask. 😉