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[-] morrowind@lemmy.ml -5 points 1 month ago

You can't entirely remove a word from it's main meaning and there's a reason all popular swear words are negative or taboo things, fuck, damn, hell etc

[-] the_post_of_tom_joad@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Well gosh darnit the study of etymology is gonna want a word (hehe) with you. a faggot used to be an old unpleasant woman who was like baggage, as difficult to carry around as a bundle of sticks which was also called a faggot. Brits smoke fags.

Literally is another example. Through use, it now has a secondary definition which is exactly the opposite of its primary one. (figurative, emphasis)There are less popular examples but your premise as i understand it is just wrong friend

[-] morrowind@lemmy.ml -2 points 1 month ago

I didn't say the main meaning can't change, just that you can't remove it from said meaning by using it in a different context

just that you can’t remove it from said meaning by using it in a different context

I'm afraid i don't follow (no sarcasm). Can you elaborate?

[-] morrowind@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 month ago

The main meaning of a word can change, but at any given time, you can't use the word in a different context, and expect how people receive it to be completely divorced from its current main meaning

[-] Zier@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago

This is true, which is why context matters. Like if you love a song so much and say, "That's sick!", people might think you mean "ill" and assume something negative.

this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
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