Sugar Labs wanted to know whether the phrase "ad hoc network" contains a hyphen in "ad-hoc". They will spell it for children around the world. I like the Sugar mission, so I pay them some attention; in this case (having studied Latin, as well as English grammar and style) I knew something worth contributing. The reasons that (1) we spell it "ad hoc" and (2) we have an urge to write it "ad-hoc" are surprisingly interesting! (I originally posted this on the mailing-list; afterwards it seemed worth sharing on my blog.)
On 05/06/10 18:01, Paul Fox wrote:
heh. i was really kind of rooting for "impromptu" [networks], myself. it sounds like a lot more fun than "ad hoc". "Come on over! We’re having an ad hoc party!", just doesn’t have the same ring to it. 
ahem.
i think ad hoc is really two words, and shouldn’t be hyphenated. i’m sure one of our fluent latin speakers can help here.
Ah, Grammar! Summary: Today, "ad hoc" is definitely correct and "ad-hoc" depends on how much of a stickler is the grammarian you ask.
The Latin phrase is indeed two words. Also, Latin grew up at a time when hyphens didn’t exist either. Also, we’re using "ad hoc" as an *English* adjective; both with and without hyphen are used; either way is, by the rules of English grammar, two words. For most adjectives in this situation we would use a hyphen: consider the ambiguity of
"hot pink bunnies"
do we mean "hot-pink bunnies, the brightly colored creatures that decorated the pages of Muse magazine instead of cats-vs.-dogs." ("hot-pink" applies to "bunnies")
or
"hot, pink bunnies ran limply from the sweltering heat of the fire." ("hot" applies to bunnies, "pink" applies to bunnies, but "hot" does not apply to "pink" or vice versa)
The only reason "ad hoc" can get away with not having a hyphen is because it’s a well-known phrase that cannot be split up. (You can’t have an "ad network" or a "hoc network" — except if "ad" is short for "advertising" which is an entirely different word!) In fact, the without-hyphen version is rather more standard. I personally think it doesn’t really matter. A book publisher would make us use "ad hoc", but we’re not in that business of producing books, marketed to people who read lots of prose, that will of necessity sit on shelves unmodified for decades. Probably a few decades ago "ad-hoc" was less popular, and a century from now who knows where we’ll be, but that’s where we are now.
however, I also rather prefer "impromptu" or "informal"! One site suggested "spontaneous" also. Unless we’re trying to be consistent with established English usage, in which case we might want to choose "ad hoc networks" (assuming these networks really are the same concept as the well-known term "ad hoc networks", and not something that’s much more specific/idiosyncratic — judging by [1] etc, I think it’s pretty close to that concept)
[1] http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2009-December/026831.html
-Isaac
P.S. I have inklings of a few concepts that professional grammarians would further complicate the issue with, but it didn’t seem necessary to speculate in any more detail.
