advantage

In colonial America (and in Britain?) this term was used to modify a quantity in the same way that someone in the late 20ᵗʰ century might use “plus,” as in “He received thirty plus dollars for the part.”  Lederer [1985, page 18] cites an example from a 1776 advertisement in Connecticut: “a two year and advantage steer,” that is, a steer two plus years old.

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Last revised: 1 February 2010.