NCHERPS
Very Well-Known Member
peterescue said:The meaning of a word is not constant. It means different things in different fields.
Sophistcated metals are alloys, sophistaicated ladies were of mixed perantage. Sophisticated nowadays means something else completely.
A theory in evolution is a law where a theory in other fields isnt.
An intergrade in NSW NPWS system is a locality M. spilota ssp but in other fields is something else.
Thats the thing about language. It also isnt constant. The only thing constant is that it changes constantly.
Next week we will be discussing semiotics.
this > 0 < is a tree.
Good points here Peter, I also agree, alot of these Dictionary's were written decades ago, and many don't assess the changes in meaning as time goes on.
Here in Australia people have a bias in a way, as they have always associated an 'Intergrade' with just the naturally occuring one found around Port Mac.
Many europeans and Americans have always considered subspecies crosses to be Intergrades and not hybrids.
A zoological example is the Bornean/Sumatran sub-specific intergrade orangutan, this has never been questioned as anything other than a Intergrade in zoological circles.