Re:Andreas Kling – Failure is also a habit
by birdyrooster on Friday July 07, 2023 @11:22AM
(#36633097)
I don’t think Webster is always right or writes complete etymology. Perhaps there is a more charitable way to interpret the PC. But PC should provide sources, that would be nice.
Re:Andreas Kling – Failure is also a habit
by renewiltord on Friday July 07, 2023 @11:54AM
(#36633614)
It's more a poetic association than etymology. That's an all right way to link the two.
Socrates was famous for his loose etymologies. He describes the etymology of techne (design, craft, basis of technology) as coming from “echo” and “nous” (mind). I love the idea of the echos of mind in technology!
His interlocutor said something like: “your etymology is like pulling a heavy boat up a steep ramp.” Ha! Yay for the playful side of Plato.
Re:Andreas Kling – Failure is also a habit
by ry4nolson on Friday July 07, 2023 @12:11PM
(#36633894)
this could be a nuance/difference of "a character" of a story and a real person's "character"
The article itself says that there are multiple meanings of "character". One of which refers to a persons reputation and can be traced back to "the Greek charassein, meaning “to sharpen, cut in furrows, or engrave.”
So perhaps this is convergent evolution? "Character" can also mean symbol, like a key on a typewriter. That would make more sense as a descendant from "engraving".
I'd hazard a guess it's that multiple words which sounded vaguely similar were merged into the most dominant form as a result of people being too lazy to differentiate them by minor nuances of pronunciation.
Essentially some bone apple teas
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-history-o...).