Dear Gavin
there is also, of course, the fallacy of the etymological fallacy - which is a little more complicated in that is pretends that meaning exists as the aggregate of uses. Teasing out meanings is a conceptual skill like drawing - we all know that a drawing of a ship is not a ship - equally we all know that a teasing out of a meaning is not THE meaning.
cheers
keith russell
OZ Newcastle
>>> Gavin Melles <[log in to unmask]> 09/29/08 8:31 PM >>>
Hi Terry and the list
I;ve noticed a penchant for quoting dictionary meanings, sometimes historical, of dubious relevance to current polysemy of most terms and also dubious relevance to the discussion in hand. The etymological fallacy is a common disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymological_fallacy
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