Is it deduce or deduct? And what is a deduction?

❓ Deduce or deduct?

🔎 Let Sherlock Holmes be your guide.

🕵️‍♂️ When Sherlock Holmes works something out, he deduces. He reaches a conclusion based on the facts that he has uncovered.

💰 Whereas, deduct means to subtract or take away. HMRC deducts tax from your pay.

🖊 For the verb form of these words, spelling is important as each one means something different.

deduce = to work out
deduct = to take away

Past tense:
💡 I deduced…
➖ I deducted…

When we need the noun form of the words – the thing that is done – then it’s more straightforward. It’s the same in both cases: deduction.

Deduction is the act of taking something way.
💐 I opt in to the ‘staff contributions’ deduction scheme which pays for leaving gifts, and flowers for new parents, etc.

Deduction is also the act of inference and reasoning.
🕵️‍♂️ Sherlock Holmes’s deductions allow him to solve the crime.

Now I’m off to uncover which came first: the chicken or the egg? Or, in this case, the noun or the verb? I’m not actually sure but I love a linguistic treasure hunt. My gut says that some sort of conversion or back-formation is going on here. Hmm… I’m on the case. 🕵️‍♀️