Hi, Gavin,
The use of dictionaries has gone round here more than once in earlier
threads. I'd say that there is truth to the issue of polysemy -- and there
is also value to dictionaries that derive their definitions from usage
exemplars.
Etymology is sometimes a problem, but it also sheds light on how words grow
and how (as well as what) they mean. Despite my occasional criticism of
Martin Heidegger as a difficult and sometimes opaque writer, one thing I
valued in his work was the way he used the history and development of words
to explore the roots of meaning and the growth of ideas.
This also holds true of such interesting contemporary thinkers as Ole Fogh
Kirkeby.
IMHO, the real use of definitions is to explain what we mean by a word as we
use it in the context of any specific thread. If one understands text and
context, definitions and dictionaries are helpful thinking tools.
Or so I think.
Yours,
Ken
Ken Friedman
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