Throughout the history v. across the history

[hhtt21]

Are throughout the history and across the history the same in meaning?

"Throughout the history of engineering and science from Archimedes to Einstein,
this endeavor has occupied many great minds, and the evolution of solid mechanics reflects the revolution of applied science for which no end is in sight"

https://books.google.com.tr/books?i...science for which no end is in sight.&f=false

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

No. 'Across the history' doesn't work.

 

[Tdol]

You would have more freedom with prepositions without stating what the history was of, but even then throughout/over would work better than across.

 

[hhtt21]

You would have more freedom with prepositions without stating what the history was of, but even then throughout/over would work better than across.

There are lots of books in Googlebooks including "across the history" so does it have a different meaning than "throughout the history" or is it completely wrong?

Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

Context would probably be helpful here.

 

[hhtt21]

Let's look at this.

"There are grand dividing lines drawn in red ink across the history of all nations." This seems to me exactly the same as the throughout used in the previous example given in #1.

Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

Being unused to to that phrase, it doesn't mean anything to me. However, I understand that you think it means the same as "throughout the history of...." Also, I don't see the necessity of learning a new phrase that means the same as the one I already know. (A seldom seen phrase at that.) Probably it would make sense to me in context. (One sentence is not always enough.)

 

[hhtt21]

Being unused to to that phrase, it doesn't mean anything to me. However, I understand that you think it means the same as "throughout the history of...." Also, I don't see the necessity of learning a new phrase that means the same as the one I already know. (A seldom seen phrase at that.) Probably it would make sense to me in context. (One sentence is not always enough.)

Sorry for forgetting the link. I am very distracted these days. I like learning phrases whether they are the same of another or not. Would you please read the link and re-determine again?

https://books.google.com.tr/books?i...k across the history of all nations."&f=false

Thank you.

 

[Tdol]

If you find one example when the other 999 examples don't follow the pattern, what have you found? If you go back to my earlier post, you will find that I said something would work better, not that something was an absolute rule. However, don't be surprised by the results. Prepositional use is not a grammatical issue but a question of collocation and choice. The example you have found could be mixing ideas- red lines tend to be horizontal in writing. The example you started with created an artificial sentence. If you really want to use this, use it. However, it is the right of the listener/reader to think your sentences are unnatural, which they will most of the time.

 

[hhtt21]

Is this show that it is old-fashioned?

https://books.google.com/ngrams/gra...e history;,c0;.t1;,throughout the history;,c0

Thank you.

 

[hhtt21]

Another problem is which of throughout the history or throughout history is the correct one, or both?

 

[jutfrank]

Different prepositions have different uses.

This means that if you replace one preposition with another, in an otherwise similar phrase, you get a different meaning.

across and throughout are different prepositions.

Therefore, across history and throughout history do not have the same use. In other words, two sentences that differ only in this particular use must have different meanings.

Let's look at this.

"There are grand dividing lines drawn in red ink across the history of all nations." This seems to me exactly the same as the throughout used in the previous example given in #1.

No. It is not at all the same. Even if you cannot understand how it differs, you can deduce, simply from the fact that the sentence employs a different preposition, that it differs.

 

[GoesStation]

Let's look at this.

"There are grand dividing lines drawn in red ink across the history of all nations." This seems to me exactly the same as the throughout used in the previous example given in #1.

Throughout and across mean different things. In your quote the author is imagining each nation's history as something like a chart. If you line all the charts up side by side, you can draw a line across all of them; each one has a point in time where a dramatic change has occurred.

 

[probus]

The thought that "across" was old-fashioned compared to "throughout" did cross my mind, but I was not sufficiently certain to say so. Now you have answered your own question, and answered very well indeed.

Your success shows how much you can accomplish through your own research.

 

[GoesStation]

Does this show that it is old-fashioned?

https://books.google.com/ngrams/gra...e history;,c0;.t1;,throughout the history;,c0

No. If you look at across the history by itself you'll see that its frequency has increased much faster. It's still far rarer; it expresses a concept which just doesn't come up very often.

 

[hhtt21]

Different prepositions have different uses.

This means that if you replace one preposition with another, in an otherwise similar phrase, you get a different meaning.

across and throughout are different prepositions.

Would you please explain the part "in an otherwise similar phrase"?

 

[GoesStation]

Would you please explain the part "in an otherwise similar phrase"?

It's a phrase which is similar except for the preposition.

 

[hhtt21]

It's a phrase which is similar except for the preposition.

Can we say there in another similar phrase or in an other similar phraseinstead of in an otherwise similar phrase?

 

[hhtt21]

Yes, but you change the meaning.

Are these the same in meaning: in an other similar phrase, in another similar phrase?

 

[hhtt21]

That is not correct.

Then I can rule out it among others.