Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.
William SafireRead
At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words gain meaning through societal usage rather than their original definitions.
This quote by William Safire emphasizes the concept that language and meaning are dynamic. Over time, the way a community uses a word can redefine its significance, highlighting the evolving nature of communication and the influence of collective understanding on the words we choose to express our thoughts.
Themes
LanguageMeaningWordsCommunicationSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on semantics, one might reference this quote to illustrate the fluidity of language.
More from William Safire
All quotes βDangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.
William SafireRead
Never assume the obvious is true.
William SafireRead
Stop worrying about the 'dumbing down' of our language by bloggers, tweeters, cableheads and MSM thumbsuckers engaged in a 'race to the bottom' of the page by little minds confined to little words.
William SafireRead
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
William SafireRead
Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity.
William SafireRead
Similar quotes
To follow imperfect, uncertain, or corrupted traditions, in order to avoid erring in our own judgment, is but to exchange one danger for another.
Richard WhatelyRead
My spiritual pain is unbearable. I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?
Mikhail KalashnikovRead
The easiest rationalization for the refusal to seek the truth is the denial that truth exists.
Sidney HookRead
If virtuous, the government need not fear the fair operation of attack and defense. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting the truth, either in religion, law, or politics.
Thomas JeffersonRead
...the moment of passage from disturbance into harmony is that of intensest life.
John DeweyRead
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.
P. J. O'RourkeRead