the.com/definition
The fence we build around a word the moment it tries to mean everything.
means A precise statement of what a word or phrase means, marking the boundaries of its sense.
from From Latin definire, 'to limit, to set bounds,' built from de- ('completely') plus finire ('to end, to bound') — the same finis that gives us 'finish' and 'finite.' To define something was literally to draw a line around it, fencing the boundary where one meaning stops and another begins. It entered English through Old French in the late Middle Ages, already carrying that sense of marking limits.
- latin root
- From definire, literally to set a limit
- circular trap
- Every dictionary defines words using other words
- never final
- Editors revise meanings as usage drifts beneath them
- camera term
- High definition means more pixels, not more clarity