What does ‘collaborate’ mean?

Is it okay to use the word ‘dinner’ for an afternoon meal? (V Janaki, Trivandrum)

Yes, it is; on Christmas day, some people have their traditional Christmas dinner around two in the afternoon. The word ‘dinner’ comes from the French ‘disner’, and in 13th century England, the word was used to refer to the first meal of the day – anything that people had to eat between early morning and noon. So, what we today refer to as ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’ was called ‘dinner’ in the past. With the passage of time, however, the terms ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’ were introduced to refer what we eat in the morning and afternoon – and as a result, the word ‘dinner’ was used to refer to the last meal of the day. In countries like Britain, ‘dinner’ continues to be used to refer to the main meal of the day – a meal where an individual’s intake is the maximum. So, if your main meal is in the afternoon, you can call it ‘dinner’.

We’re planning to have an early dinner before leaving for the airport.

The guests arrived a little after noon for the Thanksgiving dinner.

What is the difference between ‘collaborate’ and ‘corroborate’? (J Mukund, Hyderabad)

Although the two words sound somewhat similar, they have very different meanings. In terms of pronunciation, both words have the same number of syllables – four each. The vowels in the first and third syllables sound like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The second syllable in ‘collaborate’ is pronounced like the word ‘lab’, while in the case of ‘corroborate’, it sounds like the word ‘rob’. The final syllable in both words is pronounced ‘rate’. The two words are pronounced ‘ke-LAB-e-rate’ and ‘ke-ROB-e-rate’ respectively - with the stress on the second syllable.

When you ‘collaborate’ with someone, you work with him on something – it could be a project, report, etc. You team up with another individual; in other words, the two of you ‘labour’ (col-labor-ate) together! This is one way of remembering the meaning of the word.

Satish is very temperamental. No one wants to collaborate with him on the project.

Sunitha and Vishnu collaborated on the project for nearly six months.

When you ‘corroborate’, you provide evidence or proof for something that you or someone else has said. It is a word frequently used in a court of law and in the field of science.

Our findings did not corroborate the new hypothesis.

Find a witness who can corroborate our client’s story.

What is the meaning of ‘I’m afraid’ in the sentence “I’m afraid I can’t help you”? (S Vinita, Vizag)

In isolation, the word ‘afraid’ is normally used to mean ‘scared’. Some children, for example, are afraid of dogs, while many are afraid of the being alone in the dark. In the expression ‘I’m afraid’, however, ‘afraid’ does not express fear. In informal contexts, the expression is used when you have bad news to pass on to someone; the use of ‘afraid’ is meant to soften the blow of the message you are about to deliver. When you preface a statement with ‘I’m afraid’, it means ‘I’m sorry to say’. Here are a few more examples.

I’m afraid I must disagree with you.

I’m afraid many kids will be disappointed if we cancel the event.

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