>As I said in the previous comment, there are some words that have multiple, contradictory meanings. "Literally" is not one of them; by its nature, it cannot be

>As I said in the previous comment, there are some words that have multiple, contradictory meanings. "Literally" is not one of them; by its nature, it cannot be. If you disagree with me, you should argue this point rather than cite irrelevant examples. Literally is quite literally one of those words and you've yet to cite any reason why it isn't or can't be. You can't just cite one dictionary that you happen to agree with (Webster) while ignoring other dictionaries you don't (Oxford). Words don't have a nature - language is a man made construct and ultimately defined by cultures which are ever changing. Changing cultures directly results in changing languages. Words being adopted from one language to another is the direct result of mixing cultures. Words changing meaning is a direct result of a changing culture. Languages are a living construct - with the exception of conlangs - nobody sat down and designed and defined entire languages and, arguably, even conlangs eventually adapt to their culture over time so being designed doesn't prevent it from change over time. There is a reason there is an "Olde English".