adherence (ad-hîr['ens)

noun

1. The process or condition of adhering. 2. Faithful attachment; devotion: "rigid adherence to ... the teachings of a single man" (Janet Reitman).

[From French adhérence, from Latin adhaerentia, from adhaerens, adhaerent, present participle of adhaerere, to stick to : ad-, to + haerere, to stick.]

In concept at least, adherence and adhesion both involve the sticking of one thing to another, but adherence appears predominantly in figurative contexts while adhesion is predominantly physical. So you might describe a glue as having good adhesion to glass. But adherence is almost never used in this way.

Adherence sees a great variety of nonphysical uses. People can maintain their adherence to the tenets of a religion or philosophy, or demonstrate their adherence to procedure or a set of rules (such as a strict dietary or exercise regimen), but it sounds strange to speak of a person's adhesion to a faith or a diet.

Interestingly, while these two nouns have gone down separate paths, they share the same verb: adhere. Mud adheres to your boots, and people adhere to their beliefs.

Scientific evidence exists that atherosclerosis and coronary insufficiency can be reversed by adherence to a conscientious program of lifestyle modification involving a strictly vegetarian, low-fat diet, yoga, meditation, group therapy, and moderate exercise.

— Andrew Weil, M.D., Natural Health, Natural Medicine

2

adhesion (ad-he'zhen)

noun

1. The process or condition of sticking or staying attached to a surface. 2. The physical attraction or joining of two substances, especially the macroscopically observable attraction of dissimilar substances. 3. A fibrous band of scar tissue that binds together normally separate anatomical structures.

[From French adhésion, from Latin adhaesio, adhaesion, from adhaesus, past participle of adhaerere, to adhere; see adherence (#1).]

SEE NOTE AT adherence (#1).

Her plump upper lip clamped onto the lower as a snail's broad foot clamps onto a leaf, the adhesion indicating that she found the topic distasteful and had nothing more to say upon it.

— John Updike, The Widows of Eastwick

3

adopted (e-dop'tid)

adjective

1. Having taken on the legal responsibilities as a parent of a child that is not one's biological child. 2. Having become the owner or caretaker of a pet, especially one from a shelter. 3. Being a place that one has moved to or resettled in: one's adopted country.

[Past participle of adopt, from Middle English adopten, to adopt, from Old French adopter, from Latin adoptare: ad-, to, towards + optare, to choose.]

Children are adopted by parents, and we normally refer to an adopted child but to adoptive parents, families, and homes. When describing places, you can use either adopted or adoptive, but there is sometimes a slight difference in emphasis. She enjoys living in her adopted country emphasizes that she has chosen to live there. She enjoys living in her adoptive country suggests that she has adjusted to living there or has been accepted in the community.

4

adoptive (e-dop'tiv)

adjective

1. Characteristic of or having to do with adoption. 2. Related by adoption: "increased honesty and sharing between birth families, adoptive families and adoptees" (Robyn S. Quinter). 3. Being a place where one has moved or been accepted as a new resident.

[Middle English adoptif, from Old French, from Latin adoptivus, from adoptare, to adopt: ad, to, towards + optare, to choose.]

SEE NOTE AT adopted (#3).

5

amend (e-mend')

verb

1. To change something for the better; improve: We took steps to amend the situation.2. To alter the wording of a legal document, for example, so as to make it more suitable or acceptable. 3. To enrich soil, especially by mixing in organic matter or sand.

IDIOM:

make amends To make reparations for a grievance or injury caused to someone.

[Middle English amenden, to remedy, correct, emend, from Old French amender, from Latin emendare: e, variant (used in front of certain consonants) of ex-, out + mendum, fault.]

Amend and emend look similar, sound similar, and have similar meanings. In fact, they even come from the same word in Latin. The two words are what linguists call doublets, words that derive from the same word in another language, but have taken different forms and meanings because they were borrowed at different times or were affected by an intermediary language (as a Latin word being borrowed through French). Travel and travail, and chase and catch, are other examples of doublets.

Etymologically, amend and emend both mean "to take away a defect or fault," that is, to change something so as to improve it, but each word's range of application is different. When something is amended it is usually improved by an addition or revision,...