Distmantle vs Disassemble

English translation: Not exact synonyms, but in practice, often used that way

07:38 Jun 5, 2007

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Construction / Civil Engineering / General

English term or phrase: Distmantle vs Disassemble

Different opinions.

1. Dismantle/Disassemble - synonyms
2. Dismantle/Dissassemble - close, but not synonyms
3. One individual disagrees with the nuance between the below points one and two - if he was told to dismantle/disassemble a project, he'd take care to keep functional integrity of equipment intact, vice as during a decomissioning.

Please expand on examples 1- 2. I'm not trying to split language hairs here, sometimes these differences are important as we try to pick the right words in Russian. Thank you.

1. Dismantle - to take apart, to remove..however, you don't care if you destroy the functional integrity of the device or equipment. "They are going to dismantle the radios from those cars." They are going to tear them out of the cars and not be gentle about it. The radios won't be used again.

2. Disassemble - The car radios are going to be disassembled. Taken out and taken apart...perhaps with the goal of replacing a part, fixing a part or whatever...the bottom line is that they will be re-assembled and put back into the cars, or will be used in some other fashion.

Agree/Disagree? Better explanations???

Kurt Porter KudoZ activity Questions: 26 (2 open) (1 without valid answers) Answers: 654
Local time: 09:22

Selected answer:Not exact synonyms, but in practice, often used that way

Explanation:
I agree with the etymological point that David is seeking to make, but we must acknowledge that in everyday usage, 'dismantle' is very often used with the meaning 'to take apart carefully for later re-assembly' — and I suspect part of this maybe the native ear's instinctive dislike of the assonance in 'disassemble' (and all too close to 'dissemble'!)

You will very often see: "Easily dismantled for cleaning"

OK, semantically, such usage is technically wrong — but it is far to widespread to be simply dismissed as 'wrong'

So I think Kurt's translation dilemma needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, to see if it means 'take apart' or 'take down'

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Note added at 26 mins (2007-06-05 08:05:13 GMT)
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...far TOO widespread..., of course — apologies!

As a matter of mere curiosity, I just did a quick Google on "dismantled for cleaning" vs 'disassembled for cleaning" — the former scored some 10,500, while the latter got over 43,000. So the former version seems to be pretty widespread, as I said, and of course, that was only one of many possible variants.

Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:22

Grading comment

I wish there was a way to split these points. Based on the concepts of first in and peer agreement for a very good answer, I should award these points to David. However, I am awarding the points based on the answer that I found most helpful for my needs. Thank you to all for your input, especially Tony. Your answer research allows me to provide a resonable explanation to non-native speakers on the correct/incorrect usage of the two terms.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +9

They are not synonyms (I'm not even sure they are that close)

David Russi

4 +7

Not exact synonyms, but in practice, often used that way

Tony M

4 +1

to take apart

kmtext

dismantle = take down (demolish), disassemble = take apart

asptech

Answers

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

distmantle vs disassemble to take apart

Explanation:
Dismantle - to take apart. To demolish or raze. To strip of covering.
Disassemble - to take apart (a piece of machinery etc). Dismantle.

I'd agree that disassemble implies taking more care not to damage components as they are taken apart or removed.

They both mean to take something apart, but dismantle, to me, implies that what is being taken apart will not be rebuilt, whereas disassemble implies that it will be reassembled and will be used again for its original function

kmtext
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:22
Native speaker of:

English,

Gaelic
PRO pts in category: 4

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +9

distmantle vs disassemble They are not synonyms (I'm not even sure they are that close)

Explanation:
Of course, when you dismantle something, you can break it, deform it, etc. When you diasassemble it, you need to take care that you can assemble it again.

Main Entry:dis£assemble
Pronunciation:|dis+
Function:verb
Etymology:1dis- + assemble

transitive verb : to take apart : separate into constituent parts *disassemble a watch*
intransitive verb : to come apart *automobile sections disassemble*

Main Entry:dis£mantle
Pronunciation:d*s, (*)dis+
Function:transitive verb
Etymology:Middle French desmanteler, literally, to deprive of a cloak, from des- 1dis- + mantel cloak * more at MANTLE

1 : to strip or deprive of dress or covering : DIVEST, UNCLOAK
2 : to strip of furniture and equipment or significant contents *dismantle a house that is to be razed* *dismantle a ship before scrapping it*; specifically : to strip of guns, walls, and defenses *dismantle a fort* *dismantle a town*
3 : to wear down : do away with : RAZE, DESTROY; also : ANNUL, RESCIND *dismantle price controls after the war*
4 : to take to pieces : DISMOUNT
synonyms see STRIP

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Note added at 9 mins (2007-06-05 07:48:02 GMT)
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References provided are from Webster's Unabridged.

David Russi
United States
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

23 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +7

dismantle vs disassemble

Not exact synonyms, but in practice, often used that way

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:22
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 24

Grading comment

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Vicky Papaprodromou

31 mins

-> Efharisto, Vicky!

agree

Mara Ballarini: I agree with David about the exact meaning of the two terms, but you're certainly right in saying that the problem needs to be address case by case because of the usage of these terms today

33 mins

-> Thanks, Mara!

agree

Robert Fox

1 hr

-> Thanks, Robert!

agree

Ken Cox: yep -- the translator's motto 'let your context be your guide' is applicable

1 hr

-> Thanks, Ken! I think we'd better try and find that in Latin!

agree

Phong Le: I am not sure where the original documents you are translated is from but to my own 10 year experience in translation of manuals, if it is from Japanese or the like, dismantle and disassemble could be the same and you have to understand the whole part

5 hrs

-> Thanks, Phong Le! Original language is certainly a key factor in this

agree

Richard Benham

8 hrs

-> Thanks, RB!

agree

Jack Doughty

3484 days

9 hrs confidence:

distmantle vs disassemble dismantle = take down (demolish), disassemble = take apart

Explanation:
is what my dictionary says

asptech
Local time: 06:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Swedish

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Distmantle vs Disassemble

English translation: Not exact synonyms, but in practice, often used that way

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