One of the meanings of the word "beg" has disappeared over time, and the meaning of "question" has evolved as well; as a result, the meaning of the phrase "beg

One of the meanings of the word "beg" has disappeared over time, and the meaning of "question" has evolved as well; as a result, the meaning of the phrase "beg the question" is evolving to more closely fit the currently understood definitions of those two words. It's amusing that none of the prescriptivists criticizing people for misusing this phrase seem to argue that we should be actively start using the second meaning of beg again, nor do they ever use it themselves. For a much more comprehensive and interesting analysis of this topic, I'd recommend languagelog's article: (http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2290 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2290). I agree with his conclusion; it's futile to force people to understand the traditional meaning of this phrase, and it would be preferable for the phrase itself to evolve to use words that are currently in use and unambiguous ("assuming the conclusion" and "raising the question," for example)