The (dis)Orient Express

A meandering morning path fueled with caffeine from the DrinkHaus can sometimes inspire a post, but of course, Kate already knows this. GBC Paige and I were discussing “disoriented versus disorientated” and it became a mission this morning to learn which usage was correct. This was partly inspired from listening to the interview with Gillian Tett discussing Fool’s Gold last night on “Fresh Air” and the English tendency to disorientate.

Immediately upon arriving home, I sought my Oxford English Dictionary only to remind myself that I received the French version from the separation of assets. (Cue Tammy Wynette.) Quand même, the English portion of this dictionary gives us “disorient = disorientate” with the entry just below that stating that the verb tense in French would be “désorienter.” So then, on to the magical world of the Google search engine. The results seem to indicate that the use of “disoriented” is a North American phenomenon while Dictionary.com gives us three meanings suggesting a standard usage. The Urban Dictionary still poses yet another view.

So now, I am leaning toward "disorientated" and wonder if I can manage using it with a straight face in Nashville.