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I was just wondering how exactly the word warming is used with different sentences which actually gives different meaning.

For e.g.,

  1. My house warming ceremony
  2. Global warming

How it is actually giving different meaning? I understand the meaning of both, but just curious about why it is exactly as such. I would be glad if any one would explain this to me in detail about this.

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As a teaching moment, I would not edit, but comment that “for e.g.” is a tautology, as “e.g.”, which is abbreviation of Latin phrase exempli gratia, already means “for example”. So what are you saying is “for for example”. –  theUg Feb 27 '13 at 8:47

1 Answer 1

House warming and global warming don't necessarily use warming differently. The former refers to the warming of a house prior to occupancy while the latter refers to the warming of the entire earth. While house warming is now used figuratively, it is quite literal in its origins. From Wikipedia:

The term "housewarming" is descended literally from the act of warming a new house, in the days before central heating. Each guest would bring firewood, and build fires in all the available fireplaces, offering firewood as a gift. Aside from warming the house, this was also believed to repel evil spirits by creating a protective atmosphere of warmth.

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