By the by.... You may hear an argument that Arabs can't be antisemitic because they are Semites too. This, of course, is bullshit, but the first time I heard it I was unable to reply. It is bullshit because "antisemitism" doesn't mean "opposition to Semites" any more than "anti-imperialism" means "opposition to emperors". It's an example of the etymological fallacy, that a word's "true meaning" can be found by looking at its roots.*
*In fact, the root of "etymology" means 'true', because the Greeks, or some of them, believed this. But I digress.
-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoëpist, and Philological Busybody
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Date: 2007-10-16 07:05 pm (UTC)*In fact, the root of "etymology" means 'true', because the Greeks, or some of them, believed this. But I digress.
-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoëpist, and Philological Busybody