How do we communicate?

One example of a word that has become hopelessly misused is fulsome. It is used, these days, almost exclusively to mean something it shouldn't. You see and hear the phrase "fulsome apology" all over the place, almost always as meaning "full apology." Fulsome means nauseatingly over the top, not full and complete.
 
I once had an English professor (a professor of language/writing, and he was from England) who, on the first day of class, asked us what the purpose of a dictionary is for, and there were all sorts of variations on a single answer, which was "To show us how to use words."

He differed, and said it wasn't just to "show how to use words," but to also "show how words are used," which is a bit different.

We went on to explain that a dictionary comes from the language and the way it's used, not the other way round, and it was an important difference to remember; otherwise language would never evolve.

I personally don't have a problem with words, over time, slipping their definitions. Use a word "incorrectly" long enough, and it becomes, in a practical sense, correct. We just have to keep up. :)
 
TastyReuben said:
I once had an English professor (a professor of language/writing, and he was from England) who, on the first day of class, asked us what the purpose of a dictionary is for, and there were all sorts of variations on a single answer, which was "To show us how to use words."

He differed, and said it wasn't just to "show how to use words," but to also "show how words are used," which is a bit different.

We went on to explain that a dictionary comes from the language and the way it's used, not the other way round, and it was an important difference to remember; otherwise language would never evolve.

I personally don't have a problem with words, over time, slipping their definitions. Use a word "incorrectly" long enough, and it becomes, in a practical sense, correct. We just have to keep up. :)
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It is certainly an interesting point of view and one that deserves reflection, although I do not find myself in complete agreement - or as our good old Giovanni Trapattoni (coach of Juventus and of the Italian national team) said: "I am in complete agreement in a half" :laugh: (a gem that has now made history in Italy).

Making an incorrect use of a word that already has a precise meaning does not make it a correct one just because it is now so common that it is OK. It sounds a bit like telling a lie many times and in the end it becomes a truth. But it is still a lie.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Making an incorrect use of a word that already has a precise meaning does not make it a correct one just because it is now so common that it is OK. It sounds a bit like telling a lie many times and in the end it becomes a truth. But it is still a lie.
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But isn't that how words get new meanings? Words weren't created with all the meanings associated with them fully formed.

When my mom was a kid, "That dog is bad," meant one thing and just one thing, but by the time I was a kid, that sentence could have two, fairly opposite meanings. People, through usage, added to the acceptable definitions of the word.
 
There are lots of words that have more than one meaning and sometimes you come across a word you've never even heard of and discover that it fits into this category. For example, we discovered the word "frush" today from doing a crossword. We were completely unaware of its existence. Consulting Chambers', we found it means part of a horse's foot and also (the answer we wanted), a Shakesperian term meaning to break.

Another thing we discovered was that "rascal" once meant "rabble." I would like to add that there is no intent to offend anyone on these boards or any implication to be taken from this observation.
 
Duck59 said:
There are lots of words that have more than one meaning and sometimes you come across a word you've never even heard of and discover that it fits into this category. For example, we discovered the word "frush" today from doing a crossword. We were completely unaware of its existence. Consulting Chambers', we found it means part of a horse's foot and also (the answer we wanted), a Shakesperian term meaning to break.

Another thing we discovered was that "rascal" once meant "rabble." I would like to add that there is no intent to offend anyone on these boards or any implication to be taken from this observation.
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I've been called all sorts, I have a thick hide. Talking of words, when in London in 98 I caught up with my cousin and his girlfriend. After getting acquainted she ( a Londoner) and I were talking, she said I was funny, to which I replied you would like one of my brothers, he's a real hard case, to which she turned her eyes up. My cousin ( a kiwi) had to explain a hard case in the uk is a hard man, a bad person. Here in nz a hard case is a funny likeable person.
Completely different meanings.

Russ
 
rascal said:
I've been called all sorts, I have a thick hide. Talking of words, when in London in 98 I caught up with my cousin and his girlfriend. After getting acquainted she ( a Londoner) and I were talking, she said I was funny, to which I replied you would like one of my brothers, he's a real hard case, to which she turned her eyes up. My cousin ( a kiwi) had to explain a hard case in the uk is a hard man, a bad person. Here in nz a hard case is a funny likeable person.
Completely different meanings.

Russ
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Here, "a hard man" can be interpreted a third way, meaning an, um, aroused man.

When we were kids, we always laughed at "Beast Of Burden" when that came on the radio.
 
A story from my time in Eritrea. A Canadian girl was one of my volunteer colleagues and had never heard the term "shagging" before. We were in a noisy bar and she said, in genuine innocence, "I like shagging!" meaning she liked the word. Unfortunately for her, the music stopped at that very moment. Probably fortunately for her, it's unlikely that most of the people in the bar got it, either.
 
Duck59 said:
A story from my time in Eritrea. A Canadian girl was one of my volunteer colleagues and had never heard the term "shagging" before. We were in a noisy bar and she said, in genuine innocence, "I like shagging!" meaning she liked the word. Unfortunately for her, the music stopped at that very moment. Probably fortunately for her, it's unlikely that most of the people in the bar got it, either.
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Here, at least before the Austin Powers movies, "shagging" usually meant dancing.
 
A further observation, more to do with accents and pronunciation. I'm reasonably good at spotting accents and one thing you learn is that New Zealanders and Canadians always like it when you don't mistake them for an Aussie or a Yank...

No offence intended to those of that ilk, of course.
 
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