The reasons people feel itchy and uncomfortable for a word change meaning are many and varied. For some, darkness accompanies any form of semantic drift, while others choose to complain only when they fear that some particular word is in danger of losing its specificity. Experts in the technical field seem especially fond of criticizing a word that takes on a new meaning; a recent trend we’ve observed is the mathematically inclined argument against widespread use index number.
“Exponential Growth” and “Doubles” are not just “buzzwords”. They are well-defined specific mathematical terms, as carefully detailed in the first listed reference of the Article, Bartlett (1993).— Albert A. Bartlett, Population and EnvironmentSeptember 2003
Is your understanding of these terms growing exponentially? ARE NOT! thunder a tone of mathematicians. Maurice Fox of Arlington, Va.— William Safire, writes: “I am annoyed to hear some trends described as ‘exponentially growing’ when the author wants to say that it is growing rapidly. New York TimesMay 6, 2001
Alas, some recent visits reveal that the word is often used simply to mean “a lot”. Missions would be “much more difficult” if one were to be blind, space warfare “much more dangerous” than on earth.— Manil Suri, New York TimesMarch 4, 2019
Please don’t ask us to explain this math.
ONE index number is “a symbol written above and to the right of a mathematical expression to represent an operation raised to a power,” and his mathematical senses index number includes “of or relating to an exponent” and “relating to a variable within an exponent.” These senses are appropriately mathematical, and if the word stopped there all would be well in the world.
But index number also means “representable or approximately representable by an exponential function; special : characterized by either an extremely rapid increase (as in size or extent).” That is the meaning of ‘approximately expressible’, especially the part after the word special in the above definition, that upsets the fans of specificity, who so desperately want it index number does not end up simply acting as a synonym of so many. For that we and some other dictionary concerns, definition index number In this “not what your math teacher meant” way, it seems worth asking: why do lexicographers hate math?
We don’t, but even if we did, that wouldn’t be why we determined index number like this. We define words by the way they are used, and it is important to acknowledge that it is we who follow the lead of the speakers of our language and not the other way around. By the time we started typing and identifying words, it was because they had arrived, not because we wanted to introduce them. Dictionaries don’t stamp the endorsement, they just catalog what has been accepted by the language’s speakers.
We don’t think you need to worry that the refreshing feeling of index number will reduce the accuracy of the strict mathematical sense. There are many words in the English language that have precise applications in one area and a wider range of meanings in general use. As a means of proving this, here we have a short test, with three common math terms: calculation, cornerAnd core. See if you can distinguish between math-related meaning and common usage in each of the following pairs of quotes.
Analytics
The Saudi leader’s trip to Asia provides a close-up look at how that is changing the political calculus for other countries.— New Temko, Christian Science Screen (Boston, MA), February 26, 2019
Basic calculus teaches that some indefinite integrals have no closed form, but unfortunately most students never understand why.— DV Feldman, OptionNovember 2015
Corner
“Stay away from that publicity, what is your angle?” an audience member protested.— Kansas City Stars (Kansas City, MO), February 22, 1923
It should be noted that we have now applied the word corresponding for certain angles of congruent figures and for certain angles formed when a horizontal line intersects two other lines, the lines are almost always two parallel lines.— Herbert E. Hawkes & William A. Luby, plane geometry1920
core
As we grew over the years, our work evolved, our problems multiplied and took on different shapes in different areas including Boston.— Boston GlobeNovember 11, 1892
Let’s say you multiply 7 by 8, find the 8 on the Top and the 7 on the Side, and in the Square where they meet is 56 Products, etc. Companion of young arithmetic and algebraists1751
Perhaps mathematicians are now asking ‘how would you feel if people started using the word dictionary means anything other than “a reference in print or electronic form containing words usually arranged in alphabetical order along with information on form, pronunciation, function, etymology, meaning as well as usage of syntax and idioms”? What if people start using dictionary writer with the meaning of “killjoy”?’
We can tell you the answer to at least one of these questions, as people have used dictionary in an extended sense for a while, and so we provide several definitions for the word. In addition to describing an alphabetical list of words, a dictionary can also refer to “a comprehensive list, collection, or general archive”, “a list (such as data items or words) stored in a computer for reference (such as for retrieving information or word processing)” and a few others besides.
And if you can convince enough people to use the word dictionary writer as a synonym for killing, rest assured we will add it as a definition. Furthermore, we will do so without complaining that some inviolable features of the language have been lost.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
