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> "literally", which has evolved so much that the dictionary has literally changed its definition to indicate that it could be used metaphorically Just as surp
by repsilat 8y ago
> "literally", which has evolved so much that the dictionary has literally changed its definition to indicate that it could be used metaphorically
Just as surprising to me is people saying the word "silently" aloud. As though they don't know what it originally meant!
- analogyexpert 8y agoI think it requires some mental gymnastics to say that you shouldn't be surprised that a term that etymologically means 'according to the direct and actual meaning of the words themselves' could be reappropriated to mean, in effect, the opposite - literally almost nothing, a blank hyperbole - taking more purpose in its effect on the rhythm of a sentence, than from any of its dictionary definitions.
- repsilat 8y agoIn the circumstances when "literally" is used figuratively it is an intensifier. It is never used to mean "figuratively". Compare "really" (which funnily enough etymologically points towards meaning "literally" or "truly" as well.)