Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.

[Q]: What goes in the blank? Commerce Commercial Finance Financial Trade __________.
[A]: One word is mercantile: Related to trade [ODO]


[Q]: This question, 'Discrete Units of a Continuous Quantity', asks whether units of a continuous quantity should be spoken of as discrete or continuous. The top answer states The rule is simple, and you obviously know it: discrete quantities require the use of 'fewer' and continuous quantities require the use of 'less'. Calorie, as a unit, requires the use of 'fewer'. Energy, as a continuum, requires the use of 'less'. 'Fewer calories means less energy.' I do not understand the logic here though. Calorie is a unit, yes, but it is a continuous unit (it is possible to have half a calorie, or 4.582394 calories). Since a calorie is such a small unit of energy compared to what it is usually used for (food energy and human metabolism), it is very seldom expressed in a fractional form and instead is rounded (usually to the nearest 10 or higher). Why then should 'fewer' be used with calorie instead of 'less'? Is there another relevant rule than just 'continuous quantities use 'less' and discrete quantities use 'fewer'?.
[A]: Divisibility does not mean something is not countable or that it isn't a discrete unit, requiring use of 'fewer'. A calorie is not 'energy' it is a 'unit of energy', and therefore, countable and discrete, even though it's divisible. It's divisible into further discrete units - half a calorie, in this case, is still a discrete unit. Using another example, you would have 'fewer' jars of peanut butter, even though someone might have eaten half of the peanut butter in some of the jars. You could even cut the entire jar in half, none of that matters, you still have fewer jars. And you also have less peanut butter, in the same way that fewer calories means less energy. The calorie corresponds to the jar, not to the peanut butter (that would correspond to the energy the calorie measures). It doesn't matter that there is 'less' peanut butter in some jars than in others any more than it would matter if some of the jars were a gallon in size, and some were just single-use jars with two tablespoons of peanut butter inside. Put another way, your 'half a calorie' is still a unit, and thus, you'd still say 'fewer calories'.


[Q]: In technical literature as well as aircraft user interfaces where there is not enough space to write the whole word, the prefix 'trans' is shortened to 'x'. Transmit -> Xmit Transfer -> Xfer I am interested to know what is the origin of this. I am curious because 'Ex' and 'Trans' do not have a similar sound.
[A]:
X is commonly used to refer to cross because of its shape of two lines crossing. Trans- means cross/across. Trans- and cross- are interchangeable in many cases. From Wikipedia (emphasis mine): In abbreviations, it can represent trans- (e.g. XMIT for 'transmit', XFER for 'transfer'), cross- (e.g. X-ing for 'crossing', XREF for 'cross-reference'), Christ- as shorthand for the labarum (e.g. Xmas for 'Christmas', Xian for 'Christian'), the crys- in 'crystal' (XTAL), or various words starting with ex- (e.g. XL for 'extra large', XOR for 'exclusive-or'). Example: a transatlantic flight is one that crosses the Atlantic, and something that is transdermal crosses through the skin. The trans- in transmit and transfer is analogous to transatlantic. Crossing a mit or a fer makes perfect sense. -Mit is from the Latin mittere which means to send. -Fer is from the Latin ferre which means to bear or carry. 'Transmit' often means to send across something or over a specific medium and 'transfer' can be to carry across from one to another. Therefore trans- is often replaced with X- in certain words.