Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)
in reply to a message by Array
I understand what Array is saying, but I do think that there is a basic confusion in calling a name's etymological origin its "meaning". We do not say that the etymological origin of everyday words are what they "mean". The word "nice" goes back to a Latin word which meant "ignorant" and the word "orchid" goes back to a Greek word which meant "testicle", but if you see a woman wearing a corsage and tell her she has one a "nice orchid", you do not MEAN to say that she is wearing an "ignorant testicle". So in the way we use the word "meaning" to talk about other words in everyday English, I think it is quite proper to say that Cassandra "means" "prophet of doom who is not believed". As a matter of fact, one can call someone "a Cassandra" in English with precisely that meaning. So personally when talking about a name's etymology I always try to say that I am talking about the name's "origin". I think that describes what we are discussing better than saying that the etymology is really the name's "meaning".
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Messages

Another possible meaning to the name Cassandra  ·  Conan  ·  7/5/2005, 8:18 AM
Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Array  ·  7/5/2005, 9:15 AM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Cleveland Kent Evans  ·  7/5/2005, 1:18 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Chrisell  ·  7/5/2005, 5:51 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Cleveland Kent Evans  ·  7/5/2005, 7:42 PM
It's an allusion...  ·  Eirena  ·  7/7/2005, 4:21 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Array  ·  7/6/2005, 6:26 AM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Cleveland Kent Evans  ·  7/6/2005, 5:44 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Chrisell  ·  7/6/2005, 5:51 PM
And, of course...  ·  Miranda  ·  7/6/2005, 1:26 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Chrisell  ·  7/5/2005, 8:36 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Cleveland Kent Evans  ·  7/6/2005, 5:52 PM
Re: Meanings and associations are different. (m)  ·  Eirena  ·  7/7/2005, 4:24 PM