"You might revert to me" ... huh?

[Owen]

I get dozens of eMails a day at work, and there's a new buzzword - kinda like touch base, lets network, etc - it's called 'Revert'. Now as far as I know, the word revert means return to previous state, or in other words, turn back into what it was. I've checked Google, and I can't find any other definitions, but time and time again people are eMailing in with questions saying "You might revert to me on these". Anyone got any ideas if it's actually used in that context, or are all these people just making mistakes?

Reminds me of the Simpsons, where Edna Crabboble says "Embiggen isn't even a word", and Skinner says "Embiggen is a perfectly cromulent word" :blackeye:

[bomber01]

Yes Owen, the term is used quite frequently in our side of the business.
e.g .." the planned date for the overhaul of reactor R-10 is Thurs 04- Oct
if there any problems envisaged please revert."
So the term is used a lot if you want someone to be aware of a message or request on a specific subject that may or may not require a reply...







John

[Owen]

But what I'm trying to say is that it seems, according to the dictionary, that using the word in this context makes absolutely no sense. Are people making mistakes, and it's just becoming so commonplace that it's accepted?

[Owen]

The almighty Google leads to sites like Bad English, and wordreference, and nearly every one of these sites says that it's actually a mistake, and that people just don't know what they're saying.

Good to know, I thought I was going crazy, and didn't know the meaning of the word.

[mini998s]

Owen,
I have used this term for years. It was originally used to signify you wanted a response from the person you were communicating with be it in agreement or to alter the subject you were discussing. You were asking for their ideas on the matter in hand.
As far as I can remember it started being used when the faxing came into being after the telex machines became extinct. It was a form of shorthand to ask for a reply.

Alex.

[AdyP]

Saw this for the first time in a text at work. Currently being used in Nigeria it seems...

[Owen]

I'm just glad that it's poor english, and that the word is being used incorrectly. Thought I was going crazy for a minute when I saw it for the first time in an eMail.