A strong case can be made that clarifying terms is one of the primary roles of philosophy. Some quotes from Wittgenstein:
«Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by
means of language.»«The philosopher treats a question, like an illness.»
«What is your aim in philosophy? — To shew the fly the way out of the
bottle.»“The confusions which occupy us arise when language is like an engine
idling, not when it is doing work.”“Philosophy aims at the logical clarification of thoughts.”
Very often clarifying terms is not just about ‘zooming in’, but also ‘zooming out’, looking at framing, context and integration between ideas. As such, they can be where paradigms clash. Such disagreements are the source of the ‘harms’ you speak of, I’d say.
There is a time for lenient definitions, and a time not: «Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” -Einstein.
Quoting from Any people except Wittgenstein, who have written about the misuse of language?:
Organic is quite a good example of the change of use of language over
time. It start out meaning the sound from the keyboard musical
instrument. It got used for organism in the early days of biology.
Organic chemistry as that science got increasingly sophisticated. Then
organic food. Now as vs forced, or artificial. Complaining about
‘organic reach’ is just complaining about a neologism, like saying
organic food isn’t right because there is no inorganic food.
Shifting definitions is crucial to extending and developing meanings. Sharpening them means looking at ‘language as use’, etymology, context and types of discourse, all kinds of tools. But we can only get as exact as we should, and no more.
The idea of words having a single meaning, was something Russell & Frege would have approved of, a logical language based on a mathematical. But Godel’s Incompleteness theorems put an end to that, because ad hoc new truths can always be added in a sufficiently complex system, shifting terms & definitions.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
- Though the English language has many quirks, one of its most interesting is homographs: words that are spelled identically but have different meanings or definitions.
- There are at least 10 words with hundreds of definitions each, like «go» and «put.»
- «Run» is anticipated to have approximately 645 different meanings in the next Oxford English Dictionary, set for a 2037 release.
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The English language is, indeed, a quirky one: it’s notoriously difficult to learn, and often words have more than one meaning.
Some of these words are called homographs. They’re spelled identically but have vastly different definitions. «Go» has 368, for instance, and «set» has 430. The word «run» is anticipated to have approximately 645 different meanings in the next Oxford English Dictionary, set for a 2037 release.
Keep scrolling to see which 10 words in the English language have the most definitions.
Run: 645 definitions
Syda Productions/Shutterstock
Though there is some debate surrounding the first place position of «run,» as one of the top homographs it has (an anticipated) 645 different definitions, according to a New York Times article from 2011.
The word is widely used to describe various activities: a computer runs a program, a car runs on gas, a candidate runs for office, etc. Of course, as with the rest of the English language, the word continues to evolve.
Set: 430 definitions
Keystone Features/Getty Images
Referred to as the «old chestnut» in the same New York Times article, «set» previously held the top position for the English word with the most definitions.
But «set» «hasn’t undergone as much development in the 20th and 21st centuries as has ‘run,'» Gilliver told the Times. Regardless, «set» holds strong at 430 definitions, per the 1989 O.E.D.
Go: 368 definitions
Prisma by Dukas/UIG via Getty Images
«Go» is one of the most ubiquitous everyday words in the English language. Like many others on this list, it can be a noun, adjective, and verb. It clocked in at 368 definitions in 1989’s O.E.D.
Its top meaning as a verb is «to move from one place to another; travel,» but it can also be «said in various expressions when angrily or contemptuously dismissing someone.» Used in a sentence: «Go and get lost!»
Take: 343 definitions
iStock
The word «take» is described by Merriam-Webster as «to get into one’s hands or into one’s possession, power, or control.» But its meanings stretch across a vast terrain: to «take something in» could also mean «to consider or view in a particular relation.»
It comes in a close fourth place, roughly 20 definitions less than «go:» 343 in the 1989 O.E.D.
Get: 289 definitions
Nicky J Sims/Getty Images
Like «go,» «getting» is one of those commonplace words that we use so much, we don’t even realize how much we use it. We «get» coffee.» We are «getting» dolled up for a date. We «got» a bad grade on that test.
According to the 1989 O.E.D., it has 289 definitions, to be exact.
Turn: 288 definitions
REUTERS/David Gray
The word «turn» is nestled closely behind, with only one less definition than «get.» It can take on many other meanings beyond «moving in a circular direction,» including «passing the age or time of» something. In a sentence: «I turned 40 last year.»
Put: 268 definitions
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
«In terms of sheer size, the entry for ‘run’ is half as big again as that for ‘put,'» said the New York Times article. But that doesn’t make «put» any less impressive, with exactly 268 definitions in total.
«Put» also may be a reason for «set»‘s decline in popularity, as we tend to use the former in favor of the latter these days. For example: we «put» the drinking glass down, rather than «set» it down.
Fall: 264 definitions
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Perhaps the most embarrassing of the list (in verb form, that is), «fall» clocks in at about 264 definitions in the O.E.D.
Though we all know fall’s most common definition as a verb — «to descend freely by the force of gravity» — it’s interesting to note that «fall» is also used to refer to lambs giving birth, according to Merriam-Webster.
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They’re spelled identically but have vastly different definitions. «Go» has 368, for instance, and «set» has 430. The word «run» is anticipated to have approximately 645 different meanings in the next Oxford English Dictionary, set for a 2037 release.
Subsequently, one may also ask, what word has the most definitions?
The word with the most meanings in English is the verb ‘set’, with 430 senses listed in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989.
Also Know, why does set have so many definitions?
The reason it came to have so many definitions is because it is so vague. «To put in place» can be expanded to «to cause to happen» or «to create», e.g. «I just set my Facebook status» or «That earthquake set off a tsunami».
What’s the longest one syllable word?
What is the longest one-syllable English word? The one that’s most commonly cited is screeched (nine letters). But there are also schlepped, scratched, scrounged, scrunched, stretched, and the plural nouns straights and strengths (all with nine letters).
What kind of verb is set?
Conjugation of ‘Set’
| Base Form (Infinitive): | Set |
|---|---|
| Past Simple: | Set |
| Past Participle: | Set |
| 3rd Person Singular: | Sets |
| Present Participle/Gerund: | Setting |
Write Your Answer
TEST
YOUR VOCABULARY 4
56 One
word, two meanings
Find one word which
fits both definitions.
|
1 |
a) to reserve b) something |
B |
O |
O |
K |
||
|
2 |
a) a country b) a big |
Y |
|||||
|
3 |
a) b) |
B |
|||||
|
4 |
a) contains b) a gap or |
P |
|||||
|
5 |
a) b) |
S |
|||||
|
6 |
a) part of a b) to send a |
S |
|||||
|
7 |
a) a fruit b) |
E |
|||||
|
8 |
a) part of b) a large, |
C |
|||||
|
9 |
a) a country b) |
H |
|||||
|
10 |
a) a machine b) a keen |
N |
|||||
|
11 |
a) to stop b) |
K |
|||||
|
12 |
a) almost a b) an |
Y |
|||||
|
13 |
a) to support b) |
C |
|||||
|
14 |
a) a place b) extra |
I |
|||||
|
15 |
a) a unit of b) |
G |
|||||
|
16 |
a) belonging b) a source |
I |
It is very
common in English for a noun and a verb to have the same form. A store/ to store; a hammer/ to hammer.
Can you think of others?
Answer key
Английский язык,
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Ответил millennium2O2
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Ответ:
Объяснение:
1 income
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5 profits
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8 investors
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