Bionic Dance & Etymology

Definition of etymology Merriam-Webster:

1: the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language
2: a branch of linguistics concerned with etymologies

There is nothing in there about constructing new words.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etymology

This video is a response to BionicDance's video to ZOMGitsCriss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgBCYeU5qvY

This is also the comment section referenced in my video.

From The Online Etymology Dictionary (which is a wonderful online tool for looking at prefixes/word combinations and how they changed):

"This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago."

http://www.etymonline.com/

For instance, look at the differences between agnostic and aglow.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• BionicDance
• ZOMGitsCriss
• etymology
• language
• development
• concepts
• Words

[AmadeusMaxwell]

Very nicely done.

Now as an encore can you define "art"? :P

[stealthbadger]

@AmadeusMaxwell Why are you asking me to "as an encore" perform an action that's in the exact opposite spirit from what the point of the video is about? *throws an unabriged OED at you*

[alowlyapprentice]

OMG! You made a VariaBlast support video. XD

[stealthbadger]

@alowlyapprentice It was tongue-in-cheek, and underscoring the point that not all conversations in which a person is mentioned is that person necessarily invited to participate. :D

[sofiarune]

That ruled. Now either she'll pretend you don't exist like she did with me or she'll stamp her feet and repeat herself some more (because we all know that repeating something enough times makes it true).

Seriously though, glad someone finally addressed this. The dictionary is descriptive, not prescriptive damn it.

[parallelsdumaurier]

Bionicdance is a fundamentalist agnostic atheist.

In "discussions" with her I always imagine that I could be talking with a dogmatic religious zealot, except we're not talking about god, but words.

She has the same belief in the immutability of words as the fundamentalists do about species. And when I suggest that words are subjected to evolution. I half expected her to retort with " It's just a theory".

Usually she responds "you're wrong KIDDO"

Dogmatism is not exclusively a religious term.

[rozeboosje]

"mortgage" is a very strange word alright. In Dutch (and many .... oh snap LOL, yes, the French, too) use the word "hypotheke" (and variants thereof). It would be interesting to see if money lending for buying property at some point took a very sinister turn in the English speaking world :-)

[rozeboosje]

Strange. You actually needed to *explain* this!? :-)

[theinnerbadger]

@ultimategoobah Also, stop misquoting me. That too is dishonest bullshit.

[theinnerbadger]

@ultimategoobah I suspect you weren't listening. My problem is that (and remember this is PURE SPECULATION) if she is saying that the definition "is" something before it has changed in common usage, this is dishonest - because the definition *reflects* common usage. If she is attempting to persuade people to change the way they use the word, then argue that. Lastly, AGAIN THIS IS ONLY IF THAT IS WHAT SHE IS DOING. I'm mentioning it as a possibility here.

[sofiarune]

@ultimategoobah You realize he's talking about language and words right? Language is defined by public opinion. Words don't have magical intrinsic meaning. The only meaning they have is that which we as people assign them. People like BD and Variablast don't hold some magical authority over language. No matter how many times they try to re-define words to suit their purposes, without the support of the general public they'll get no where.

[ultimategoobah]

"attempting to change public opinion is antithetical to a respect for reality or history" can't quite wrap my head around this crazy ass statement. you realize, public opinion is often antithetical to reality its self. maybe i'm not clearly understanding this, but im confident its bullshit. further, at one point in the video you exchange the word change with coerce. Makes me think you are merging separate positions, completely separate attitudes. you can't fight the battle coz you might not win?

[GoatOfTheMountains]

I like the new expression of dismissal: "go speak French."

That's fun stuff right there.

[MsMrNoface]

BD's misstep into linguistics betrays a certain character flaw I hope she can address.

[SatanRobot]

Well, words are like anything that are over used. Like love. People say things like: I love coffee. But, you can't fucking love coffee. Love has a real meaning that imbues certain qualities deeper than your like, or enjoyment of an object. Like atheism. The original philosophy was one of debunking gods existence using scriptures, and proving that scriptures were in reality, mans own inspired works. Now, it is just whatever the fuck you want it to be, it's FUN like everything else.

[PingeMusic]

Thanks for a great video. Just what I discussed with her but I said that words have baggage that they get from the culture, the times the context and so one they are used in. so to say that just one definition of a word is the only one is just not true coz a languages that still is in use will change through time. Just some thoughts from me. Regards and have a skilful new year. Pinge