9 Commonly Confused Pairs_4

Stationery

[stey-shuh-ner-ee]

Stationary or stationery? They're just one letter off, but that pesky little "e" or "a" changes the meaning of these words entirely. Stationery is writing paper or writing materials such as pens, envelopes, and ink. The word is derived from the Middle Latin stationarius, "stationary seller." In the Middle Ages roving peddlers often sold writing supplies, moving their wares from "station" to "station." Switch that final "e" for an "a" and to be stationary is to be unmoving.
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stationery

ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/

noun

noun: stationery

1. writing and other office materials.

   "a range of stationery"

   
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stationary

ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/

adjective

adjective: stationary

1. not moving or not intended to be moved.

   "a car collided with a stationary vehicle"

   synonyms:

   motionless, parked, halted, stopped, immobilized, immobile,  unmoving,still, static, stock-still, at a standstill, at rest, not moving; like a statue,rooted to the spot, unstirring, frozen, inactive, inert, lifeless, inanimate "a stationary vehicle"

   antonyms:

   moving

   • ASTRONOMY

     (of a planet) having no apparent motion in longitude.
   • not changing in quantity or condition.

     "a stationary population"

     synonyms:

     unchanging, unvarying, invariable, constant, consistent,  uniform,unchanged, changeless, fixed, stable, steady, undeviating "a stationary population"

     antonyms:

     shifting

Origin

late Middle English: from Latin stationarius (originally in the sense ‘belonging to a military station’), from statio(n- ) ‘standing’ (see station).