4 ms·

You might want to see the definition of "enormity"

lh7777 9y ago
Interesting -- I didn't know that enormity originally meant something very large _and_ bad or morally wrong -- but the GP's meaning is generally accepted today.
- everybodyknows 9y ago
  Thereby giving us another synonym for enormousness, vastness, immensity, titanic ... And at the same stroke, purging the English language of its sole word with just that one distinctive, moral connotation. But we may yet hope to slow the slide down to Newspeak. At least one dictionary is willing to keep at the prescriptive mission: https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=enormity https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=enormity
- pklausler 9y ago
  And millions of illiterates think that "literally" means something other than "literally", too, but that doesn't make it correct, clear, or acceptable. Words mean things.
  - grzm 9y ago
    Words mean things. Yes, they do. And language changes, as your parent points out. One of my pet peeves is those who use "steep learning curve" to mean something difficult to learn as opposed to its original meaning of something that's easily learned based on a skill vs time chart.[0] If I were to continually point it out when it's misused, people would get annoyed with me and the amount of change I would accomplish approaches zero. The language moves on. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve Edited to fix typo.
    - pklausler 9y ago
      its == possessive form of pronoun "it" it's == contraction of "it is" or (rarely) "it has"
      - grzm 9y ago
        Indeed. Thanks for the correction! As an aside, using indentation as you did makes the text difficult to read, particularly on mobile, due to the side-scrolling it necessitates.
    - apenwarr 9y ago
      If experience is the x axis and learning is the y axis, and the learning curve is "steep," that might not mean it's easy to learn. It might mean that it's impossible to even get valid experience at first because it's so hard to learn, but if you manage to succeed anyhow, then there's not much more learning to do. That seems to match the common usage. In other words, climbing the y axis costs energy which must be expended to travel to the right.
  - lh7777 9y ago
    I'd also prefer a stricter definition of "literally", but here we are and there's little chance we can turn back the clock. According to Merriam-Webster, most dictionaries, including the OED, recognize the "metaphoric or intensifying sense of the word literally"[1], and this is not even a recent development. (The situation for enormity is similar.) [1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite...
bitmapbrother 9y ago
Seems fitting to me. >greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.

Interesting -- I didn't know that enormity originally meant something very large _and_ bad or morally wrong -- but the GP's meaning is generally accepted today.

everybodyknows 9y ago
Thereby giving us another synonym for enormousness, vastness, immensity, titanic ... And at the same stroke, purging the English language of its sole word with just that one distinctive, moral connotation. But we may yet hope to slow the slide down to Newspeak. At least one dictionary is willing to keep at the prescriptive mission: https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=enormity https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=enormity
pklausler 9y ago
And millions of illiterates think that "literally" means something other than "literally", too, but that doesn't make it correct, clear, or acceptable. Words mean things.
- grzm 9y ago
  Words mean things. Yes, they do. And language changes, as your parent points out. One of my pet peeves is those who use "steep learning curve" to mean something difficult to learn as opposed to its original meaning of something that's easily learned based on a skill vs time chart.[0] If I were to continually point it out when it's misused, people would get annoyed with me and the amount of change I would accomplish approaches zero. The language moves on. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve Edited to fix typo.
  - pklausler 9y ago
    its == possessive form of pronoun "it" it's == contraction of "it is" or (rarely) "it has"
    - grzm 9y ago
      Indeed. Thanks for the correction! As an aside, using indentation as you did makes the text difficult to read, particularly on mobile, due to the side-scrolling it necessitates.
  - apenwarr 9y ago
    If experience is the x axis and learning is the y axis, and the learning curve is "steep," that might not mean it's easy to learn. It might mean that it's impossible to even get valid experience at first because it's so hard to learn, but if you manage to succeed anyhow, then there's not much more learning to do. That seems to match the common usage. In other words, climbing the y axis costs energy which must be expended to travel to the right.
- lh7777 9y ago
  I'd also prefer a stricter definition of "literally", but here we are and there's little chance we can turn back the clock. According to Merriam-Webster, most dictionaries, including the OED, recognize the "metaphoric or intensifying sense of the word literally"[1], and this is not even a recent development. (The situation for enormity is similar.) [1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite...

bitmapbrother 9y ago

Seems fitting to me. >greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.