Q. In the latest Q&A on your website, I noted that an answer contained the word “lowercased.” Is this really a verb or another example of a noun erroneously transformed into a verb? I cannot imagine that you would make such an error, but I have never heard that verb before!
A. “Lowercase” is a fine verb; you can look it up in a dictionary. And in any case, I don’t know any rule against making a noun into a verb. Writers and speakers of good English have been verbifying for a long time, and sometimes it works out well. I understand your resistance, though. I winced recently when I heard someone say, “Let’s see if we can solution that.”