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> Both interpretations are listed in the Cambridge dictionary. That is due to a change that was made in the last year. [1]. Historically, that dictionary has d
by IncRnd 5y ago
> Both interpretations are listed in the Cambridge dictionary.
That is due to a change that was made in the last year. [1]. Historically, that dictionary has defined defund as "to stop providing the money to pay for something". The change to the Cambridge dictionary entry was made recently in response to the "defund the police" discussions, so we can't use the newly changed meaning as always having meant to "divert some money".
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/2020*/dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/defund
- roenxi 5y agoAnd, indeed, the Cambridge dictionary appears to be bizarrely focused on the use of 'defund' in the context of us military/police defunding. They've obviously written the definition in light of US political events. Pretty weird. It doesn't make sense to define words in context of current political events, they are supposed to have more staying power than that.
- brutusborn 5y agoThanks so much for providing that context! Amazing to be able to see meaning changing in real-time. I would prefer language meaning to be more static, it irritates me to hear people using "literally" to mean "really" but we must accept change. It's easier to put on shoes than to carpet the whole world.