At 08:10 05-10-2002 -0500, Adam Lipscomb wrote: >When we are discussing meaning of words, it is imperative that we rely >upon dictionaries, because they are THE sources that tell us HOW A >WORD IS USED. If I decide that "blue" ought to mean "green", I can >with justification be called wrong on that, because the *commonly >accepted definition* is that "blue" does not mean "green". > >You and William are both arguing that the common and authoritative >definition of a word is wrong.
If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed a shift in my position in the course of this debate. For these last few days, I have not been arguing that your preferred definition is wrong, I have been arguing that my definition is also a valid one. Are you willing to accept that a certain meaning of a word can be valid, even when it is not listed in the OED or the Mirriam-Webster? >Near as I can tell, NOT ONE SINGLE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE ON WORD >USAGE OR ETYMOLOGY has agreed with your position. According to William, the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary is "the /other/ main British dictionary", which implies that it *is* authoritative. BTW, I noticed you snipped parts of my message that I had expected you to reply to. I will therefore repeat them: The first one... First you say that my explanation is "incorrect, inane and illogical", and then you go on to say that I refuse to give an explanation. How can an explanation be "incorrect, inane and illogical" if I never gave an explanation? ...and the second one... Now, this might be a shocking new concept to some people, but have you ever considered the possibility that both interpretations might actually *both* be valid? As William pointed out, the fact that a meaning of a word is not in a dictionary does not mean that the meaning is not used. I look forward to reading your answers to these two questions. Jeroen "And now, back to studying" van Baardwijk __________________________________________________________________________ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
