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Words that have lost their meaning ...

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Flash, Jul 31, 2007.

  1. It seems like a lot of people use "frankly" when they mean "basically."
    Also, many people use "inferred" to mean "implied."
     
  2. And seeing "niggardly" reminds me of another word that clearly hasn't lost its meaning and, thus, shouldn't be used by anyone, even those attempting to "steal its power."
     
  3. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Some people also use infrared . . . but that's a whole 'nuther spectrum. ;)
     
  4. Flash

    Flash Guest

    How about 'virtually'?
     
  5. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Those words haven't lost their meaning.

    People just don't know how to use them properly. :)
     
  6. That's semantics. Every word on this list still MEANS the same thing, but people THINK it means something else.
     
  7. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    To be more precise, Okie, it isn't semantics. Words only mean what people THINK they mean. They have no inherent meaning. It's a reactive process. But JR is ultimately correct that the definition of those particular words is not likely to change based on incorrect usage -- and if it does, it will be a very, very long process.

    The only thing that actually "loses" meaning is figurative language which has become so rote that it no longer conjures a picture and becomes a cliche. Once the metaphor is lost, the phrase becomes empty.
     
  8. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

  9. I still say that's semantics. Words mean what people say they mean. I agree. But I think the majority of people now think inferred means implied. Thus that is what it means, at least for many people.
    I guess the only disagreement I have with what you're saying is how long it takes for the meaning of a word to change. I think it happens quickly if the majority of people misunderstand it.
     
  10. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    I Love You. (Haven't said it anyone in years, haven't had it said to me in years).

    So maybe they're just nonexistent and not lost of meaning.
     
  11. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    The thread title suggests that through overuse words such as "irony"--the perfect example--have lost their original meaning. It's not just simply a case of mistaken use.

    "Diva" would be another one. It originally referred to great female opera singers.

    Now it just means any female singer with a little bit of talent who's also a pain in the ass.

    And I can assure you, HC is the ultimate Undiva. :)

    "Imply" and "infer" are not the case. They are simply used incorrectly
     
  12. I have no problem admitting if I've made a mistake, but I wonder at what point words that are used incorrectly more often than correctly (such as irony or even the phrase "Immaculate Conception," which our Catholic friends will remind us refers to the birth of Mary, not Jesus) actually have their meaning changed.
    Perhaps I have misunderstood the meaning of the word "meaning."
     
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