ABILITY, CAPACITY.--_Ability_ is the power of doing; _capacity_, the
power of containing, of understanding, of acquiring.

ADHERENCE, ADHESION.--_Adherence_ is used of moral relations,
_adhesion_, of physical connection. We speak of the _adhesion_ of glue to
wood, of a man's _adherence_ to the principles of his party.

AMOUNT, QUANTITY, NUMBER.--_Amount_ means "sum total," and is used of
numbers or quantities; _quantity_ is used of things which are measured;
_number_, of things which are counted.

ARGUMENT, PLEA.--"_Plea_ (in the legal sense) is properly used of the
pleadings or the arraignment before a trial, not of the _argument_ at a
trial. A _plea_ is always addressed to the court; an _argument_ may be
addressed either to the court or to the jury. A similar remark applies to
the verbs _plead_ and _argue_."[32]

BALANCE, REST, REMAINDER.--_Balance_, meaning "the difference between
two sides of an account," is a commercial term, and cannot properly be
used for _rest_ or _remainder. Rest_ is used of persons or things, and of
large as well as of small parts. _Remainder_ is used only of things, and
denotes a comparatively small part.

CENTRE, MIDDLE.--The _centre_ is a point, or a definite place; the
_middle_ is a line, or a space, and is less definite than _centre_.

CHARACTER, REPUTATION.--_Character_ is what a man is; _reputation_ is
the prevailing opinion of his character.