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Friday, January 20, 2006
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Leslie's Dictionary of Commonly Used Terms
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Did you know that there are many terms used today that, when taken in a proper sense, don't make sense in the way they are used? The word awful, for instance, literally means filling with awe. It means the same thing as awesome.
Wonderful is the same way. It doesn't mean something is good or cool or nice. It describes something that fills you with wonder, like the ocean or the night sky. These things are also awful and awesome.
Of course, I can't say I haven't been guilty of using the term awful to describe an unsolvable problem.
Definition of terms gives me the biggest problems when I talk to someone. We could be discussing the same topic and be talking about two totally different things.
As an example, faith is defined in many ways. One may talk of faith and see it only in the light of trusting in God, putting faith in Him. Faith may also be seen as holding up an end of a bargain, keeping faith in an agreement. So if you take a verse from the bible like Colossians 1:2 which addresses the letter to "the saints and faithful brethren in Christ", you could be led to believe many things about these saints. One, they put their trust in God so much that Paul notices it in a letter. Two, they follow Christ's commands and "hold up their end of the bargain" to the same degree.* Three, these saints are noted merely for their belief in God, which may also be termed faith.
As another example, many of my friends are committed to courtship. However, each person having a different view of what this idea entails, we really open a can of worms when we discuss it in a group. Some see it the way I see betrothal, as a father deciding which girl/guy his son/daughter should marry, and the son/daughter having no real veto power at all. Others view it as simply Christian dating, "courting" ten or twelve people before deciding on one. Still others view it in different ways, making it impossible to communicate with "like-minded" people.
Another kind of quirky and unrelated obstacle is abbreviated terms. In the past few years among several different groups of friends, I have used the term "PC". It has meant my computer, the Pampered Chef, and the production center out there at HQ. Granted, it isn't confusing when you take the abbreviation in context, but I have noted the term being used several times lately and it just struck me funny.
Well, so that's my thought for the day.
*Please note, I am not in any way inferring
that a person must hold up a bargain in order
to earn salvation. This is only an analogy to
define the term. |
posted by cori
1/20/2006 09:09:00 AM
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| The ShugaBowl |
| Sounds like some kind of sports thing, but in reality, the ShugaBowl is just a little hideaway for me, Sugarcube herself, to let loose my thoughts and occasional creativeness. |
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