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Originally Posted by Superlucky
So you too would like to change our lexicon, but you would rather it go a different direction. The problem with your proposal is that "ebook" already has a definition: electronic book. "Email" means electronic mail - which is also simply a file that can be read on many devices. In the same manner, ebooks can be read on different devices (not just liseuses). So you aren't just proposing a change in the use of the word "ebook", but in the "e" prefix as well.
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I'm not really proposing. It would ultimately be academic. Since it's unlikely that any of us will make a meaningful impact on the complex system that governs a living language like English.
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Until paper books go away, "book" will refer to them. As it is, there needs to be a word for ebook devices. "Book" doesn't suffice because in its current usage it refers to paper books. "I'm going to buy a new book and I don't know what kind to get" doesn't convey the message that one intends to purchase a new device dedicated to reading ebooks.
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As a word's meaning evolves, so too does its usage. I mean like by its classical definition you would have hired a computer, not bought one.