Alphabetical Entries: D
118 entries found.
dairy worker/employee/milker/hand; dairy scientist. The nonparallel "maid/man" goes more than skin deep; while dairymaids were appearing in entry-level jobs in fairy tales, dairymen were becoming scientists.
these terms are outdated and inappropriate, and "dame" (except when capitalized and used for the official British title) is belittling. Alternatives include woman, person, adult; young woman, teenager, adolescent.
dancer.
because only men are dandies (and because not too many men like being called dandies), consider sex-neutral alternatives: fashion plate, fancy/sharp/conspicuous/fashionable dresser, clothes-conscious person.
a danseur is a principal (but not the principal) male dancer in a company, a soloist, and a danseuse is a principal (but not the principal) female soloist. Retain "danseur" and "danseuse" for their specific meaning within ballet companies, but to describe a woman or a man who dances ballet nonprofessionally, use ballet dancer. See also ballerina; premier danseur; prima ballerina.
use for women, too. For example, "Daredevil Marie" Marvingt (1875-1963) is the most decorated woman in the world today and was known as "the fiancée of danger." She was the third woman in the world to obtain a pilot's license and fought in World War I disguised as a man. She earned a Croix de Guerre for bombing a German airbase, was given the French Academy of Sports gold medal for excellence in all sports, dove out of a dirigible into a Venetian canal, crossed the North Sea in a balloon, invented the ambulance airplane, and is a member of the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.
use "genocide"; do not describe these massive slaughters and displacements as a "conflict" or "a war between ..." The non-Arab indigenous population suffered 200,000 to 400,000 deaths, untold rapes, over 1,200 destroyed villages, deliberately poisoned wells, and 2,000,000 people forced into exile.
person/persons from the Darfur (Realm of the Fur) region in western Sudan where the genocide of its indigenous, black, non-Arab citizens by the Sudanese government has claimed the lives of several hundred thousand Darfuri since 2003. "Darfuri" is also the adjective, as in "Darfuri survivors."
when possible, avoid using "dark" to express negatives. (It's been used subjectively in, for example, "Dark Ages" and "Dark Continent"; the latter is considered offensive.) Use instead the word that comes closest to your actual meaning: sinister, dismal, dreary, bleak, grim, gloomy, depressed, dejected, cheerless, joyless, sad, doleful, sullen, glum, dour, moody, glowering, evil, wicked, villainous, base, vile, ominous, threatening, menacing. It's a small step, but it helps. See also black.
these phrases are Eurocentric, ethnocentric, and inaccurate. See also Africa.
inclusive term for someone of the same or opposite sex one makes arrangements to spend time with. For the person who has to pay for sex, use sex buyer. See also prostitute.
good sex-specific word for a female offspring. Inclusive alternatives: child, descendant, offspring.
leave as is; this is a biology term with specific meanings.
childcare. Using "childcare" instead of "daycare" emphasizes the developmental needs of the child rather than the parents' need for convenience. "Childcare" is also more accurate for parents who work night shifts.
deacon, except when specific denominations designate "deaconess" as the office for women; in some churches "deaconess" is the functional equal of "deacon." Although most translations of the Bible use "deaconess," the original Greek used the same word—diakonos—for both sexes. And these women had the game as well as the name: in the early church, both men and women functioned as deacons. Whenever possible, use the more authentic "deacon."
the dead tell no tales.
using a new name, adopted legally or informally, to reflect their correct gender is key for transgender people. Most people don't even know someone's deadname (their former name): "Respectful friends and family no longer use it, and others, also out of respect, don't ask what it was" (SPLC's Intelligence Report, spring 2019). Deadnaming sometimes appears when crime victims are identified by their deadnames, confusing investigations and leaving readers uninformed about the death of someone they may have known under another name. Law enforcement agencies are adopting more up-to-date policies regarding transgender individuals. Writers and journalists must have a defensible reason for deadnaming anyone.
these offensive terms are also usually incorrect; most deaf people have functioning vocal chords although they may choose not to use them (because of the difficulty of imitating sounds never heard) and they communicate fully and expressively by means of some form of sign language. A person who does not use speech may be able to hear; individuals with speech and hearing disabilities can use other methods of expressing themselves, such as writing and sign language. Whenever possible and if you need to mention the disability, ask the involved individuals how they prefer being prescribed. Use deaf, someone who can't hear, someone who can't hear or speak, someone who can't speak. See also deaf/Deaf, people-first language.
use only as an adjective (never "the deaf"). Deaf people range from those born with a hearing loss to those who become deaf later on, from those who sign to those who speak or speech read, from those with mild or modest to those with severe or profound deafness. Deaf people are not all alike. However, most prefer the plain word "deaf" to such terms as hearing impaired, hearing disabled, auditorily handicapped, nonhearing, late deafened, has a hearing loss. Some people accept "hard of hearing"; others do not. Always verify terms (and precise types of deafness) with the people you're writing about. "Deaf" is capitalized when referring to Deaf culture, a particular group that shares a culture and ASL (American Sign Language). Metaphorical uses of "deaf" ("turned a deaf ear," "deaf to their request," "a dialogue of the deaf," "their story fell on deaf ears") associate negative qualities with deafness. Consider using instead: unmoved, unwilling to listen, unconcerned, indifferent, inattentive, heedless, unswerving, insensitive. See also disabilities, handicapped, inside/outsider rule, people-first language.
for a woman, Dear Jane letter. If you mean in general to reject someone: jilt, brush someone off, show someone the door, swear off someone, send someone packing, break up with someone.
already in 1687 playwright Aphra Behn was protesting, "Dear me no Dears, Sir." These terms are patronizing and inappropriate when used by a man or a woman to someone (most often a woman) who has not given permission to be so addressed. These terms especially do not belong in the workplace or in social interactions with strangers where the lower-power person must tolerate an unwanted and insincere intimacy. More than 20 years ago, the Ford Motor Company advised its dealers, "Never call a would-be buyer 'honey' or 'dear.'" (In service establishments where women are called "dear" or "honey," men are called "sir.")
inheritance tax. When conservatives tried to repeal the estate tax, thus benefiting the wealthy far more than those without large estates, voters didn't care for the idea. The general feeling seemed to be, "Let those rich folks pay taxes. Fine by me!" So Fred Luntz, conservative wordsmith extraordinaire, came up with the term "death tax." Since everyone was going to die eventually, it seemed a good idea to get rid of the death tax. And they did. However, this term is not accurate. Death is not taxed, property is taxed. Death tax should only be used as an example of spinning and inaccuracy.
because "debonair" seems limited to men (although it need not be—in L'Allegro Milton used it to describe a goddess), you may want alternatives: sophisticated, jaunty, lighthearted, vivacious, breezy, nonchalant, free and easy, merry, cheery, sunny, sporty; well-mannered, well-bred, polite, refined, civil, charming, suave, courteous, urbane, gracious, graceful, obliging, affable.