Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell
I have a major pet peeve with dictionaries that include incorrect usage. People look up a word to determine the correct meaning, not to learn how people are misusing it.
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In theory at least, dictionaries are supposed to document the change after it has happened, they are not supposed initiate the change. (At least that is my understanding of their role.) Dictionary.com for example mostly agrees with Harmon's definition of
decimate (not citing as an example of perfection, just as a site I find useful and generally reliable), my earlier post was aimed at highlighting that the imprecise definition existed, not just the precise.
Language is a constantly moving target which, I suppose, is one of the reasons why we have had so much difficulty on this thread - but the fact that it is always moving is one of the reasons I think my OP still has (at least some) validity.