Supposingly?

[Tamara]

Hi

"Capcom has supposingly hinted at the possibility of playing as Trish, who previously appeared in Devil May Cry."

This is a sentence from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_May_Cry%3A_Dance_of_Sparda

I am always confused with the word…
At school I was taught that the right form is ‘supposedly’. Only.

Could you say something about that?
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Mister Micawber]

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Always take Wikipedia with a grain of salt, Tamara. It is written by the unwashed masses. Supposedly is correct; supposingly I find a very odd, coined adverb. It is evidently in use (try Ms Google), but this is one on-line lexicologist's comment:

Supposably, supposedly, supposingly. Sometimes confused. Supposedly is usually the correct choice. Use it to mention something that might be true or real though you may not believe it. If you must use supposably, first find a dictionary and then try to figure out what it means. You'll find supposingly in a dictionary of words that don't exist.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Tamara]

Thank you, Mister Micawber.

Yes, the situation is strange because the word 'does’t exist' de jure (dictionaries, experts, etc), but it is in (active) use, de facto.

...supposably is a new word for me.
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

I think your word 'supposingly' is one of those muddled creations that has got lost between a correct form and an incorrect form. To me supposingly is a s cock-eyed as admittingly instead of admittedly or allegingly instead of allegedly.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Word Story: Weather

[Mister Micawber]

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Absolutely, Alan. And mass media-- especially the internet-- disseminate such ill-conceived hybrids rapidly. Our lexicologists will eventually have to deal with this prolific output of neologisms that so quickly gain currency and are becoming a part of the language, willy-nilly. In the long run, it is going to have a significant effect on the language-- or at least on the weight of our dictionaries.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's