| Starcloud |
There's one that particularly irks me.
Locus: lo·cus
noun
noun: locus; plural noun: loci
1.
TECHNICAL
a particular position, point, or place.
"it is impossible to specify the exact locus in the brain of these neural events"
the effective or perceived location of something abstract.
"the real locus of power is the informal council"
GENETICS
the position of a gene or mutation on a chromosome.
2.
MATHEMATICS
a curve or other figure formed by all the points satisfying a particular equation of the relation between coordinates, or by a point, line, or surface moving according to mathematically defined conditions.
"a parabola is the locus of a point that moves so as to be equidistant from a fixed point and a straight line"
Focus: fo·cus
noun
noun: focus; plural noun: foci; plural noun: focuses
1.
the center of interest or activity.
"this generation has made the environment a focus of attention"
Similar:
center
focal point
central point
center of attention
hub
pivot
nucleus
heart
cornerstone
linchpin
kingpin
bedrock
basis
anchor
backbone
cynosure
an act of concentrating interest or activity on something.
"our focus on the customer's requirements"
Similar:
emphasis
accent
priority
attention
concentration
weightage
subject
theme
concern
subject matter
topic
issue
question
text
thesis
content
point
motif
thread
substance
essence
gist
matter
GEOLOGY
the point of origin of an earthquake.
MEDICINE
the principal site of an infection or other disease.
2.
the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition.
"his face is rather out of focus"
Similar:
focal point
point of convergence
sharp
crisp
distinct
clear-cut
clear
well defined
well focused
blurred
unfocused
indistinct
blurry
fuzzy
hazy
misty
cloudy
foggy
fogged
shadowy
smoky
faint
unclear
vague
indefinite
obscure
lacking definition
ill-defined
nebulous
woolly
muzzy
bleary
blear
Opposite:
out of focus
in focus
another term for focal point.
the point at which an object must be situated with respect to a lens or mirror for an image of it to be well defined.
a device on a lens which can be adjusted to produce a clear image.
3.
GEOMETRY
one of the fixed points from which the distances to any point of a given curve, such as an ellipse or parabola, are connected by a linear relation.
4.
LINGUISTICS
the part of a sentence given prominence, usually for emphasis or contrast, e.g., Bob in it was Bob who came, not Bill.
verb
verb: focus; 3rd person present: focuses; past tense: focused; past participle: focused; gerund or present participle: focusing; 3rd person present: focusses; past tense: focussed; past participle: focussed; gerund or present participle: focussing
1.
(of a person or their eyes) adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.
"try to focus on a stationary object"
cause (one's eyes) to focus.
"trying to focus his bleary eyes on Corbett"
adjust the focus of (a telescope, camera, or other instrument).
"they were focusing a telescope on a star"
Similar:
bring into focus
bring to a focus
aim
point
turn
(of rays or waves) meet at a single point.
(of a lens) make (rays or waves) meet at a single point.
(of light, radio waves, or other energy) become concentrated into a sharp beam of light or energy.
(of a lens) concentrate (light, radio waves, or energy) into a sharp beam.
2.
pay particular attention to.
"the study will focus on a number of areas in Wales"
concentrate.
"an opportunity to focus research on the health needs of the population"
Similar:
concentrate
fix
center
pivot
zero in
zoom in
address itself to
pay attention to
pinpoint
spotlight
revolve around
have as its starting point
3.
LINGUISTICS
place the focus on (a part of a sentence).
These terms are not identical or equivalent. A locus is always a *location* and a focus is not.
| Lurker in Insomnia |
"1. GENETICS
the position of a gene or mutation on a chromosome."
Can imply...
"3. Magical ... The position of a single piece of magical information or flaw in the pattern of a formed spell."
Or from the mathematics definition one could infer that a locus could be a pattern in the spell or something that acts through thaumaturgically defined conditions.
Magic is made up, maybe wizards named some things based on similar terms from other sciences like math.
Maybe not great, but "mangling" seems harsh
| Lurker in Insomnia |
As an example, maybe "the locus of power is in the informal council" might be similar to "the locus of a spells potential is in the calculated components in its design". The first definition of locus allows for abstraction after all.
Or... Maybe more context is going to show it is a bad word choice after all.
| PossibleCabbage |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A metaphorical/metaphysical place is a kind of place