Chapter 3 9/23

Our choice of words is very important. Words we choose to use may mean one thing to us, however are completely different in meaning to somebody else. The meaning of a word may change over time as well. An example of this would be the word fresh. Hundreds of years ago and still to this day, the word fresh was used to describe something that wasn’t stale or something new. The term is still used in that sense today, however it can also be used to describe something that looks very appealing, such as an outfit that a person is wearing. The author mentions that it is important to recognize that the meanings of words are based on convention and are not natural or written in stone. Definitions of words change over the years and new words come into existence, which is one of the reasons why dictionary makers are forced to create new editions of their dictionaries.