Comments on: Taser or Tazer? Tazing or Tasering?

By: Admiral

Admiral — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:55:11 +0000

I would think this to be like many other trademarked names. If you are referring to the specific product, use the specific name (TASER acronym). If you are referring to the generic form describing the type of weapon but not necessarily the name brand, I would think the lower case “tazer” would apply. If we accept this rule then it would naturally follow that most of the time the verb form of this law enforcement technology would refer to the generic sense such as “tazed” or “tazered” and not the specific brand. If the specific brand is not verifiable then the safest form is the generic for both the noun and the verb.

By: Advocatus Diaboli

Advocatus Diaboli — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:02:09 +0000

I agree with Tony Hearn. The only logical verb form to describe using a Taser on something is to “taser” it. After all, when you use a hammer on something do you ham it, or do you hammer it?

By: Tony Hearn

Tony Hearn — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:34:57 +0000

Noun: taser
Verb: taser, tasered, tasering.

Open-and-shut case. Keep life simple.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:13:55 +0000

I avoid using verb forms of Taser. Try: “Police stunned him with a Taser.” Or “He was shocked by a stun gun.

Unless you know it was a Taser brand stun gun, don’t even say Taser.

By: Steve ashley

Steve ashley — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:42:57 +0000

I am a retired police officer, a police trainer and risk manager, and a TASER Senior Master Instructor, which means that – although not a regular employee of TASER International – I am one of 25 contract trainers that serve as curriculum consultants and research assistants for TASER International, as well as regularly teaching classes of TASER Instructors and Master Instructors.

Your question is a valid one, and as you discovered in your research, there is little consistency in the published literature, especially on the Internet.

My answers to your questions are not so much based in linguistic technicalities as they are rooted in the language that informed law enforcement trainers and administrators use. However, admittedly, many of those individuals fumble with this one as well.

You are correct in that the word TASER is an acronym for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. The term TASER is a registered trademark, and is therefore used in all of the company’s literature – as well as its training materials – in its fully capitalized form.

We do not use the term “tase” as in, “…the suspect was tased…” Although this may seem like a verb form of the word, within the informed professional community, it is seen as sloppy usage (rather like referring to a pistol magazine as a “clip”, or a semi-automatic pistol as an “automatic”), and a bastardization of the trademark.

Additionally, while TASER International is far and away the major player in the field of electronic control devices – especially hand held ECDs – there are other manufacturers out there. If someone is exposed to one of those other products, it would not be proper to refer to them as being “tased”.

Unfortunately, the colloquial forms of the word TASER are seemingly taking hold, so it might be a losing battle. However, as with many things in the technology field, those that actually know the correct terminology will probably always look askance at those that use words like tase, taze, and tazer.

At least one can hope.

By the way, I enjoy your site very much, and read it on a frequent basis. Thanks for the service that you provide.