Passing vs Errant - What's the difference?

Passing is a related term of errant.

As adjectives the difference between passing and errant

is that passing is that passes away; ephemeral while errant is straying from the proper course or standard, or outside established limits.

As a verb passing

is .

As an adverb passing

is .

As a noun passing

is death, dying; the end of something.

passing

English

Verb

(head)

Adjective

(en adjective)

That passes away; ephemeral.

* 1814 , (Lord Byron), Lara , I.15:

And solace sought he none from priest nor leech, / And soon the same in movement and in speech / As heretofore he fill'd the passing hours

* 2010 , Marianne Kirby, The Guardian , 21 Sep 2010:

It might be possible to dismiss

dittowatch as just another passing internet fancy. After all, hashtags are ephemeral.

* Shakespeare

her passing deformity

* 1835 , (Washington Irving), The Crayon Miscellany :

It was by dint of passing strength, / That he moved the massy stone at length.

* 1847 , Robert Holmes, The Case of Ireland Stated :

That parliament was destined, in one short hour of convulsive strength, in one short hour of passing glory, to humble the pride and alarm the fears of England.

vague, cursory.

* 2011 , Stewart J Lawrence, The Guardian , 14 Jun 2011:

Ardent pro-lifer Rick Santorum made one passing reference to "authenticity" as a litmus test for a conservative candidate, but if he was obliquely referring to Romney (and he was), you could be excused for missing the dig.

going past - passing cars.

Adverb

(-)

* 1813 , (Percy Bysshe Shelley), Queen Mab , I:

One, pale as yonder waning moon, / With lips of lurid blue; / The other, rosy as the morn / When throned on ocean's wave, / It blushes o'er the world: / Yet both so passing wonderful!

* 2010 , Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian , 30 Oct 2010:

‘I find it passing strange that convicts understand honest folk, but honest folk don't understand convicts.’

Usage notes

* This use is sometimes misconstrued as meaning "vaguely" or "slightly" (perhaps by confusion with such phrases as "passing fancy", under Adjective, above), leading to formations such as "more than passing clever" etc.

Noun

Death, dying; the end of something.

The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another.

* (Oliver Onions), The Story of Louie

And since he did not see Louie by the folding door, Louie knew that in his former passings and repassings he could not have seen her either.

(legal) The act of approving a bill etc.

(sports) The act of passing a ball etc. to another player.

A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings.

errant

English

Alternative forms

* (l) (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)

Straying from the proper course or standard, or outside established limits.

* Sir Thomas Browne

seven planets or errant stars in the lower orbs of heaven

Prone to making errors.

(proscribed) Utter, complete (negative); arrant.

* Ben Jonson

would make me an errant fool

Usage notes

Sometimes is considered simply an alternative spelling and pronunciation of errant', though many authorities distinguish them, reserving '''errant''' to mean “wandering” and using it ''after'' the noun it modifies, notably is “knight '''errant ”, while using ''arrant'' to mean “utter”, in a negative sense, and ''before'' the noun it modifies, notably in “''arrant knaves”. Etymologically, arrant arose as a variant of errant , but the meanings have long since diverged. Both terms are archaic, primarily used in set phrases (which may be considered ), and are easily confused, and on that basis some authorities suggest against using either.

Synonyms

Derived terms

* (l) * (l)

References

* “ arrant/errant”, Common Errors in English Usage, Paul Brians * On Language: Arrant Nonsense, (William Safire), January 22, 2006, (New York Times) * Merriam–Webster’s dictionary of English usage, 1995, “errant, arrant”, pp. 406–407

Anagrams

* ----