To: Gord Bolton who wrote (1110 ) 3/19/1999 3:54:00 PM From: The Vet Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 2006
Gord, I can see that you feel that "notify" and "inform" mean different things and I am sure a gaggle of lawyers will charge millions to prove it; but regardless of what you think and what they charge here is the difference according to the dictionary... By all means look it up for yourself.... m-w.com Main Entry: no·ti·fy Pronunciation: 'nO-t&-"fI Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): -fied; -fy·ing Etymology: Middle English notifien, from Middle French notifier to make known, from Late Latin notificare, from Latin notus known Date: 14th century 1 obsolete : to point out 2 : to give notice of or report the occurrence of <he notified his intention to sue> 3 : to give formal notice to <notify a family of the death of a relation> synonym see INFORM Main Entry: in·form Pronunciation: in-'form Function: verb Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French enformer, from Latin informare, from in- + forma form Date: 14th century transitive senses 1 obsolete : to give material form to 2 a : to give character or essence to <the principles which inform modern teaching> b : to be the characteristic quality of : ANIMATE <the compassion that informs her work> 3 obsolete : GUIDE, DIRECT 4 obsolete : to make known 5 : to communicate knowledge to <inform a prisoner of his rights> intransitive senses 1 : to impart information or knowledge 2 : to give information (as of another's wrongdoing) to an authority synonyms INFORM, ACQUAINT, APPRISE, NOTIFY mean to make one aware of something. INFORM implies the imparting of knowledge especially of facts or occurrences <informed us of the crisis>. ACQUAINT lays stress on introducing to or familiarizing with <acquaint yourself with the keyboard>. APPRISE implies communicating something of special interest or importance <keep us apprised of the situation>. NOTIFY implies sending notice of something requiring attention or demanding action <notified the witness when to appear>.