Wayne Harridge wrote:
>
>
> ...and isn't "ensure" more appropriate than "insure" in this context ?
>
Not here. From the an American Dictionary, Merriam Webster:
Main Entry: *en·sure*
Function: /transitive verb/
Inflected Form(s): *en·sured*; *en·sur·ing*
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French /ensurer,/ alteration of
/assurer/ — more at assure
Date: 1660
*:* to make sure, certain, or safe *:* guarantee
*synonyms* ensure, insure, assure, secure mean to make a thing or person
sure. ensure, insure, and assure are interchangeable in many contexts
where they indicate the making certain or inevitable of an outcome, but
ensure may imply a virtual guarantee <the government has /ensured/ the
safety of the refugees>, while insure sometimes stresses the taking of
necessary measures beforehand <careful planning should /insure/ the
success of the party>, and assure distinctively implies the removal of
doubt and suspense from a person's mind <I /assure/ you that no harm
will be done>. secure implies action taken to guard against attack or
loss <sent reinforcements to /secure/ their position>.
____________________________________
I assure you that the entries for insure and assure agree with the
above. It appears to me that the usage in the preamble to our
Constitution is correct "... insure sometimes stresses the taking of
necessary measures beforehand <careful planning should /insure/ the
success of the [the new nation]>" It is, of course, possible that the
language of the Constitution helped define what was later codified in
dictionaries. Nevertheless, that's American usage.
Moose
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