4 ms·
> I think this implies a meaning of "the" that doesn't actually exist in modern english. > "The" often refers to a group or category. But this does not hold f
by aleph_minus_one 1y ago
> I think this implies a meaning of "the" that doesn't actually exist in modern english.
> "The" often refers to a group or category.
But this does not hold for the meaning of Latin "alter, altera, alterum" (the other one), from which the German and English word "Alternative"/"alternative" is derived.
- spauldo 1y agoOur language started out as a bad habit shared between French soldiers and English barmaids. And the barmaids were speaking a language that started as a bad habit shared between Viking raiders and Anglo-Saxon villagers. Meanings have shifted since Roman times.