"Between" or "among"?

Question

Is it correct to use between or among in the following sentence? Plus, should it be no offset or no offsets?

In the current application, it is assumed that the origins of the lasers have no offset(s) between (among) them.

It should be pointed out that there are more than two lasers.

I don't understand what the example usage is supposed to mean. Surely if there are no "offsets" among/between the "origins" of multiple lasers, that means they all have the same point source as an origin? Why bring "offsets" into it at all? — FumbleFingers, Aug 24 '14 at 18:57
@FumbleFingers : You are right. I talk about something about the "offsets" before this sentence. And I am leadinto such expressions. I should use the origins of the lasers are the same. But still, I need to choose between among and between in other sentences talking about similar things. — user1639413, Aug 24 '14 at 19:15
@user1639413: It still seems a rather odd usage. If you really want to mention offsets, I assume that's because you're in some context where offsets are always "present, relevant" - except that in this particular case the values of those offsets are always zero. But I think you're effectively asking for an "English" representation of a "mathematical expression", where natural language would steer us more towards talking about things being in the same place, rather than not offset from each other. — FumbleFingers, Aug 24 '14 at 20:33
@FumbleFingers : Yes, that is a technical writing. Although the lasers of the Velodyne are turning around the same axis, they are sent out from locations on the sensor with irregular horizontal and vertical offsets between them. For example, two laser transmitters can have a horizontal offset of 17 centimetres. — user1639413, Aug 24 '14 at 20:55

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 29 '14 at 01:17

0

Among would be the conventional usage here. You can also use between according to Oxford English Dictionary.

To answer your question it doesn't really matter. However if you want it to be clear that there are more than two lasers, use among.

http://grammar.about.com/od/alightersideofwriting/a/Among-And-Between.htm

In general, between applies to reciprocal arrangements (one member to another member), and among applies to collective arrangements (with all members involved). However, as explained in the Oxford English Dictionary and in the usage notes below, between may apply to more than two members.

Edit answering the second part: offsets because there is more than one laser offset, if there are more than two lasers.

edited Aug 29 '14 at 01:17

tchrist

134,759

answered Aug 24 '14 at 18:31

Magari96

356

1

How about the second part of the question? – Neeku Aug 24 '14 at 18:33
To use among here is incorrect. It is just as wrong as the OED calls inserting a needle ‘among’ the closed petals of a flower. You stick needles between the flower’s petals; so, too, here. – tchrist Aug 29 '14 at 01:17

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 24 '14 at 19:55

For me to venture an opinion, you would really need to provide more context in order to determine which word choice is best. Your quote makes it clear to me that there is more than one laser, but not whether the lasers mentioned are part of an array with a quantity greater than two. That would influence my choice as to whether to use between or among. If there are only two, I'd think "between" would be the better choice. If it's a larger array, then perhaps I'd go with among. Again, if there are only two, there is only one offset, while if there is a larger array, then there would be more than one offset (that is, one offset between each pair), so I'd choose the plural.

It doesn’t matter whether there are more than two. – tchrist Aug 29 '14 at 01:15 — tchrist, Aug 29 '14 at 01:15

"Between" or "among"?

2 Answers2