A Simple Word

Scholars are fond of reading.  They read lots of books about their own interests.  Some people like fictions, others want non-fiction,s and there are also few who read philosophy. 

You! My friend, what books do you read?  In reading, we oftentimes encounter words which cannot be easily understood, some are bombastic while others are hypalothic .  To decipher all these, we browse our best friends Webster’s and Merriam’s so that we can understand what we are reading. 

However, there are still some words which are very hard to understand, for Webster’s and Merriam’s cannot give their definitions…the essence of the words…the “whattness”.  

They simply give their description.  When we say meaning or definition of words, it should be understood per se.  “What makes this particular word, this particular word”.

The word definition for instance, we can understand this simply by looking to its etymology, from its Latin definire which means to enclose within limits.   But the sad reality is that, we are simply trying to understand things through their descriptions, isn’t it?

Again, let’s go back to the basic, try to understand word as it is, and not simply by describing it.  Morphology, of course, is of great help. 

Nota Bene: I am not claiming that dictionaries are not reliable, because they are.  I am just stressing that understanding the meaning of word through its etymology is essential.  Or else you will just agree with the meaning of the word Filipina, in the New British Dictionary that says, a prostitute, or a woman who sells her body for pleasure…

Filipinos, I hope you comprehend!!!