Oh my word Stationary, Stationery

The spellchecker in the computers will not help us when we use stationery in the place of stationary. We can buy stationery not only at stationary spots but also online. Stationary and stationery are not interchangeable words though they have their etymology in the Latin word stationarius which means standing in a fixed position.

Stationary means not moving, fixed in one place, standing still, unmoving, fixed object, not meant to be moved, not portable. It is an adjective. The opposite of stationary is mobile or moving. Stationary things or objects cannot be moved, they are fixed in a place or spot. Stationary things usually do not change in condition or quantity, magnitude or efficiency.

Stationary objects are motionless, standing, parked or moored. Which area in the country has stationary temperature? Reckless drivers can collide into stationary structures. Government departments have rigid rules in buying stationery. Usually there is a person whose job is order stationery for the office needs. In the UK Stationery Office is Government’s publishing house which also provides stationery for the government offices.

Stationariness is a defining quality of a house though there are people who live in mobile vans by camping here and there. Stationer is a person who runs a stationery shop by staying in a fixed place unlike an itinerant who moves from one place to another place. Stationarius in Latin is an established bookseller. Stationer is a person who sells stationery.

Stationery means writing materials like paper, envelopes, paper clips, pencils eraser, sharpener, ruler or scale and other office materials. My father used to run a stationery shop but now he is retired and lives on his private pension. Shooters are trained to shoot at stationary and moving objects. Stationery shops are usually stationed near educational institutions.

Staple is an international chain of stationery shops. As the supermarkets and hypermarkets make their way into India, it may be difficult for stationery shops to survive though it could take time. Stationmaster is the officer who is in charge of a railway station. There are hardly female stationmasters in the world.

Perhaps the day we start to have female stationmasters it may change to stationperson like chairperson or spokesperson, or possibly to stationwoman like spokeswoman. We live in an era of digital world where we can buy stationery not only from stationary places (fixed shops) places but also on online retailers. Railway stations are stationary but not the stationery shops. Anymore!