{"id":5749,"date":"2021-10-26T10:36:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T08:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=5749"},"modified":"2025-05-04T13:49:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T11:49:45","slug":"true-meaning-of-the-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/true-meaning-of-the-word\/","title":{"rendered":"True Meaning of the Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

Appeal to the TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD<\/span><\/h1>\n

The appeal to the \u00ab\u00a0true meaning of the word\u00a0\u00bb is made in opposition to discourses that are said to use a false, improper, or superficial meaning of a given word. This appeal produces a stasis of definition (2).<\/a>
\nThe true meaning of a word can be sought in:<\/p>\n

– its etymological meaning<\/span>
\n– its morphology<\/span>
\n– the meaning of the corresponding word in another language.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Argument by Etymology<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

The label \u00ab\u00a0argument by etymology\u00a0\u00bb corresponds to different kinds of arguments, depending on the meaning given to etymology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Under the heading \u00ab\u00a0argument from etymology\u00a0\u00bb, some modern texts discuss phenomena related to related words<\/a> (Dupleix, 1603).<\/li>\n
  2. In modern usage, the etymological meaning of a word is the meaning of the oldest historical root identified in the history of the word.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The etymological argument valorizes the meaning of that root by assuming that this ancient meaning is the true and permanent<\/em> meaning of that word<\/span>, which has been altered by historical evolution<\/em> to produce a contemporary perverted and misleading meaning. This etymological meaning is used in arguments that exploit a<\/a> definition.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Atom<\/em> comes from \/ is a Greek word composed of the negative prefix a-<\/em> and a noun meaning \u00ab\u00a0to cut\u00a0\u00bb; it means \u00ab\u00a0in-divisible\u00a0\u00bb. So, you cannot break the atom.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Democracy<\/em> comes from \/ is a Greek word composed of demos<\/em> \u201cpeople\u00a0\u00bb and\u201d kratos<\/em> \u00ab\u00a0rule\u00a0\u00bb. In Syldavia, the people don’t rule, they vote and forget. So, Syldavia is not a democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The appeal to etymology is itself supported by an argument from etymology, since the word etymology<\/em> is derived from the Greek root \u00e8tumos<\/em> meaning \u00ab\u00a0true\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n

    Because knowledge of etymology is culturally valued, the argument from etymology gives the speaker a certain ethotic posture of majesty and erudite authority. It serves the strategy of discourse destruction well \u00ab\u00a0You don’t even know the language you claim to speak\u00a0\u00bb<\/em>, see destruction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    2. Argumentation Based on the Structure of the Word, Ex Notatione<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Latin notatio<\/em>, \u00ab\u00a0the act of marking a sign … to designate […] to note\u00a0\u00bb, as well as \u00ab\u00a0etymology\u00a0\u00bb (Gaffiot [1934], Notatio<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Cicero in the Topics<\/em> defines the argument \u00ab\u00a0ex notatione<\/em>\u00a0\u00bb (Topics<\/em>, VIII, 35: 78), translated as \u00ab\u00a0argument by etymology\u00a0\u00bb. This translation takes the word etymology<\/em> in its ancient sense of \u00ab\u00a0true\u00a0\u00bb. The true sense of the word in question is now defined as the meaning reconstructed by the correct analysis of the word<\/span> (and not as its original historical meaning).<\/p>\n

    One of the examples of argument discussed by Cicero in this context concerns a conflict over the interpretation of a compound legal term (still in use today), the postliminium<\/em><\/span> (Top<\/em>., VIII, 36, p. 78). The postliminium<\/em> is the right of a prisoner returning to his country to regain the property and social position he held before his captivity.<\/p>\n

    Cicero’s discussion concerns the determination of the correct meaning of the word, on the basis based of its linguistic structure, without any clear allusion to its etymology in the contemporary sense of the term.<\/p>\n

    A contradictory<\/em> report<\/em> (joint report) is a report that reflects the statements of both parties, and not a self-contradictory <\/em>verbal report, or a report that contradicts<\/em> another.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The argumentation from the structure of the word thus combines two argumentations:<\/p>\n

    \u2014 The first argumentation establishes the meaning of the compound word on the basis of the meaning of its constituent terms and its morphological structure. This type of argumentation is relevant to all idioms whose meaning depends more or less on the meaning of the terms that compose them. It is based on linguistic knowledge and technique, see definition (1)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \u2014 A second argumentation uses the \u00ab\u00a0true\u00a0\u00bb meaning thus established for some legal conclusion, according to the general mechanisms of argumentation by the definition, see definition (3)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    The argument from the structure of the word functions as a way of resolving a conflict of interpretation.<\/p>\n

    3. Argument from the Meaning of the Word in Another Language<\/span><\/h2>\n

    One can look for the true meaning of the word in another language, which for various reasons is considered to be closer to the \u00ab\u00a0origin\u00a0\u00bb or the \u00ab\u00a0essence\u00a0\u00bb of things.<\/span> One such language is Chinese. For example, the word crisis, <\/em>can be defined as \u00ab\u00a0a time of intense difficulty or danger\u00a0\u00bb (Google, Crisis<\/em>). When searching for \u00ab\u00a0what crises really are\u00a0\u00bb, one can move on to \u00ab\u00a0what the word crisis<\/em> really, truly, means\u00a0\u00bb, and look up the Chinese equivalent of the word. The Chinese word for crisis<\/em> is a compound of two characters, meaning respectively \u00ab\u00a0danger\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0opportunity\u00a0\u00bb. So, crises are opportunities<\/span>;<\/strong> and, by an argument based on the Chinese definition, we deduce that:<\/p>\n

    The opportunistic approach to the crisis then takes on its full meaning: Not to seize the opportunity of a crisis, is to miss an opportunity, perhaps hidden, but within reach. (St\u00e9phane Saint Pol, [Wei Ji, Return to the Roots<\/em>][1]<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    The argument assumes that the Chinese language has elaborated and preserved a better concept of crisis, closer to the essence of the thing, and better adapted to the modern world.<\/p>\n

    \n

    [1]<\/a> www.communication-sensible.com\/articles\/article0151.php]. (09-20-2013).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Appeal to the TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD The appeal to the \u00ab\u00a0true meaning of the word\u00a0\u00bb is made in opposition to discourses that are said to use a false, improper, or superficial meaning of a given word. This appeal produces a stasis of definition (2). The true meaning of a word can be sought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5749"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14178,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions\/14178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}