Which word should be used in the following? And why?
Please cut a circle/round from the green paper.
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1A round shape need not be perfectly circular. – Kate Bunting Jun 27 '21 at 14:51
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to cut something out of something else, for starters. – Lambie Jun 27 '21 at 15:48
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I think you mean confusing, not confusable. "Confusable" means "capable of being confused". – stangdon Jun 27 '21 at 15:51
2 Answers
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The shape is called a circle. We don't usually call the shape a round, so saying "Cut a round from the green paper" is confusing.
stangdon
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I also would not say (unless nervous or being interviewed): Cut a circle from the paper. I would say: Cut a round hole in the paper. Take the paper circle that is created and .... Also: cut a paper circle out of the paper. – Lambie Jun 27 '21 at 16:08
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How I phrased it might depend on whether I cared about the piece that was being cut out, or about the hole that was left! – stangdon Jun 28 '21 at 13:52
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Yes, of course. But "still and all", I think one needs "out of" rather than "from". – Lambie Jun 28 '21 at 13:54
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A circle is a shape that is round. There are other shapes that are also round, an oval, for example. Roundness can be attributed to many different shapes, but the state of being circular is attributed only to the circle shape.
I would revise your sentence to: "Please cut a circle out from the green paper."
parergon
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"cut a circle out from" is not grammatical. Sorry. "out of the green paper". – Lambie Jun 28 '21 at 13:54