Precise adjectives

The fortieth entry is irrisório, and English answers it with two adjectives that differ by a single letter and are not interchangeable. A quantia é irrisória says that the amount is so small that offering it comes close to an insult, and the English for that is « derisory ». It attaches almost entirely to figures — a derisory pay rise, a derisory fine, a derisory turnout — and it says nothing about anybody laughing out loud. « Derisive » is the other one, and it describes the mockery itself: a derisive laugh, a derisive shrug, a derisive remark. The first says that a thing invites scorn; the second says that scorn is being handed out. Portuguese puts only the first job on irrisório, and for the second it keeps other words, trocista and escarninho. The rule going into English is therefore short, and worth holding on to: irrisório is « derisory » every time, and « derisive » is never its translation, however close the two look on the page.