turtlespeed 212 #26 December 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, DJL said: Literally. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #27 December 10, 2019 5 hours ago, gowlerk said: Off on a tangent here. Another misused word that I hear over and over again is "decimate". No one seems to have a clue what it really means. Ok, I will bite. How is it being misused? I mean I get that one of the definitions is around one every 10, but in current dictionaries there are multiple definitions. I haven't seen the misuse of "decimate" base don those definitions. Other than often the hyperbolic nature of the statement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #28 December 10, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, SkyDekker said: Ok, I will bite. How is it being misused? I mean I get that one of the definitions is around one every 10, but in current dictionaries there are multiple definitions. I haven't seen the misuse of "decimate" base don those definitions. Other than often the hyperbolic nature of the statement. The only definition I choose to recognize is the correct one in ten. Mostly for the reason that just because it is misused does not mean that misuse is correct. Edited December 10, 2019 by gowlerk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #29 December 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, gowlerk said: The only definition I choose to recognize is the correct one in ten. Mostly for the reason that just because it is misused does not mean that misuse is correct. One in ten is the historic definition, it isn't the only definition. Only recognizing the historic meaning as correct is not normal. By that standard everybody is misusing gay as well...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 562 #30 December 10, 2019 Getting raked across the courtroom can be a miserable process … even when you win! Guess how I know? I just got called for jury duty. Ask me my opinion of jury decisions early next year. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #31 December 10, 2019 13 minutes ago, SkyDekker said: One in ten is the historic definition, it isn't the only definition. Only recognizing the historic meaning as correct is not normal. By that standard everybody is misusing gay as well...... Do as you wish. There is a controversy over it. I have chosen my side. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #32 December 10, 2019 17 minutes ago, SkyDekker said: One in ten is the historic definition, it isn't the only definition. Only recognizing the historic meaning as correct is not normal. By that standard everybody is misusing gay as well...... Correct. They are. However - it has been shown many times that if you misuse something enough, it becomes accepted. One can further expand that to conclude more than just words and speech, insofar that the manipulation that a President does, even to our allies, as it is and has been done so often, has become accepted. Not correct, nor right, just accepted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #33 December 10, 2019 32 minutes ago, turtlespeed said: One can further expand that to conclude more than just words and speech, insofar that the manipulation that a President does, even to our allies, as it is and has been done so often, has become accepted. This has nothing to do with a language evolving over time. People misusing literally isn't going to change the definition of the word. Etymology isn't the study of people misusing something enough. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #34 December 11, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, SkyDekker said: This has nothing to do with a language evolving over time. People misusing literally isn't going to change the definition of the word. Etymology isn't the study of people misusing something enough. Apparently they are doing it with literally as well: lit·er·al·ly /ˈlidərəlē,ˈlitrəlē/ Learn to pronounce adverb adverb: literally in a literal manner or sense; exactly. "the driver took it literally when asked to go straight across the traffic circle" informal: used for emphasis or to express strong feeling while not being literally true. "I was literally blown away by the response I got" Translate literally to Use over time for: literally And.... Merriam Webster has an article about this madness: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally Edited December 11, 2019 by gowlerk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 232 #35 December 11, 2019 15 hours ago, gowlerk said: Do as you wish. There is a controversy over it. I have chosen my side. Do you often run into situations in which you need to specifically state that 1 in 10 was destroyed and state it in a way that people will understand you're speaking in the context of it's Latin use in the time of Visloths and Vandals? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #36 December 11, 2019 1 minute ago, DJL said: Do you often run into situations in which you need to specifically state that 1 in 10 was destroyed and state it in a way that people will understand you're speaking in the context of it's Latin use in the time of Visloths and Vandals? No, I just avoid using the word decimate when I mean devastate or reduce greatly. I try to use language more precisely than that in general. To me the inclusion of "deci" in the word means 10. I see the root of the word very clearly. Not that I know Latin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #37 December 11, 2019 4 hours ago, gowlerk said: No, I just avoid using the word decimate when I mean devastate or reduce greatly. I try to use language more precisely than that in general. To me the inclusion of "deci" in the word means 10. I see the root of the word very clearly. Not that I know Latin. I guess you also don't like to use decibel, since it means tenth of a bell and those scientists definitely don't use scales of ten when measuring decibels. What will you use in its place? How about decipher? Because "de" means reverse and "cipher" means cipher. The original meaning of cipher is 0. What will you be using in its place? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #38 December 11, 2019 2 minutes ago, SkyDekker said: I guess you also don't like to use decibel, since it means tenth of a bell and those scientists definitely don't use scales of ten when measuring decibels. What will you use in its place? How about decipher? Because "de" means reverse and "cipher" means cipher. The original meaning of cipher is 0. What will you be using in its place? You can have your pet peeves and I'll have mine. Okay? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #39 December 11, 2019 1 minute ago, gowlerk said: You can have your pet peeves and I'll have mine. Okay? Agreed, mine is inconsistency. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,956 #40 December 11, 2019 30 minutes ago, SkyDekker said: Agreed, mine is inconsistency. You certainly are constant. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #41 December 11, 2019 19 hours ago, SkyDekker said: This has nothing to do with a language evolving over time. People misusing literally isn't going to change the definition of the word. Etymology isn't the study of people misusing something enough. No - it's the study of the origin of the word. BUT - like the word, "Gay" if it is misused enough, it becomes commonplace. Then you have to include an additional definition in the dictionary. That doesn't make it right, until, well, until it does. I imagine the word "literally" to eventually have an added definition of something like, "Intense, emotion filled, dramatic, exaggeration of events" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #42 December 11, 2019 4 minutes ago, turtlespeed said: No - it's the study of the origin of the word. BUT - like the word, "Gay" if it is misused enough, it becomes commonplace. Then you have to include an additional definition in the dictionary. That doesn't make it right, until, well, until it does. I imagine the word "literally" to eventually have an added definition of something like, "Intense, emotion filled, dramatic, exaggeration of events" Agreed. Hence the definition of a word is eventually set by how the majority of people use it to communicate effectively. Which leads to the people who steadfastly hold on to some old/ancient definition of word actually misusing it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #43 December 12, 2019 5 hours ago, SkyDekker said: Agreed. Hence the definition of a word is eventually set by how the majority of people use it to communicate effectively. Which leads to the people who steadfastly hold on to some old/ancient definition of word actually misusing it. I see your point. I can't really argue with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 562 #44 December 12, 2019 5 hours ago, SkyDekker said: Agreed. Hence the definition of a word is eventually set by how the majority of people use it to communicate effectively. Which leads to the people who steadfastly hold on to some old/ancient definition of word actually misusing it. Yes! I frequently get into trouble by saying words that had radically different meanings when I was young. The last time I asked for a "fag" some guy pinched my ass! Then I tried to explain that I was trying to bum a cigarette. Hah! Hah! When I tried to explain that I did not mean "faggot," he handed me a bundle of twigs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick 67 #45 December 12, 2019 not just words but symbols also. A year or so ago I sent an e-mail to our office manager about a crate we were shipping I told her the dimensions and said it was 250#. She asked me what the hashtag meant.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,679 #46 December 12, 2019 19 hours ago, gowlerk said: You can have your pet peeves and I'll have mine. Okay? Bigly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,151 #47 December 12, 2019 3 hours ago, Rick said: not just words but symbols also. A year or so ago I sent an e-mail to our office manager about a crate we were shipping I told her the dimensions and said it was 250#. She asked me what the hashtag meant.... It is clearly the pound sign. Which is incredibly unfortunate for the #metoo movement. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #48 December 13, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, SkyDekker said: It is clearly the pound sign. Which is incredibly unfortunate for the #metoo movement. <nods head> And I say that it is sad, because if you ever hear one of the automated Phone Menus, and it references that symbol, They will not refer to it as a "hash tag" button. It is the "Pound" key. Edited December 13, 2019 by turtlespeed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,679 #49 December 13, 2019 I believe the use as a "pound" sign is fairly recent and derives from its visual similarity to the abbreviation "℔", an abbreviation for "libra" in Latin. I recall its being used as a number symbol, as in "#2 pencil", or as a sharp sign in musical key signatures. In mathematics is's used as the cardinality symbol. It currency, the pound sterling is "£". 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,106 #50 December 13, 2019 2 hours ago, kallend said: I believe the use as a "pound" sign is fairly recent and derives from its visual similarity to the abbreviation "℔", an abbreviation for "libra" in Latin. Checkmate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites