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"Incel" etymology: Difference between revisions
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→Polyseme
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==Polyseme== | ==Polyseme== | ||
The most common criticism of the term "incel" is the suggestion that it is a misnomer. These critics argue that it is a misnomer because "celibacy" is by definition voluntary. The counter-argument to this criticism is that words can have multiple senses. Although it is true that "celibacy" usually refers to a voluntary (or volitional) act, lexical semantic fields such as homonyms and polysemes prove that a single word can have multiple meanings. The former refers to words with the same spelling but unrelated meanings, the latter to same spellings with similar meanings. The term "incel" is derived from the non-volitional sense of "celibacy". | The most common criticism of the term "incel" is the suggestion that it is a misnomer. These critics argue that it is a misnomer because "celibacy" is by definition voluntary. The counter-argument to this criticism is that words can have multiple senses. Although it is true that "celibacy" usually refers to a voluntary (or volitional) act, lexical semantic fields such as homonyms and polysemes prove that a single word can have multiple meanings. The former refers to words with the same spelling but unrelated meanings, the latter to same spellings with similar meanings. The term "incel" is derived from the non-volitional sense of "celibacy". As such, the term incel is a hyponym of a polyseme of the most common usage of the term celibacy. | ||
As such, | ===Protologisms=== | ||
Another counterargument to the misnomer proponents is pointing to protologisms. The English language is ever evolving, like other languages, because of gaps in the langauge. As such, English is not a perfect linguistic system with a word for every conceivable concept. In such a "gap" scenario, sometimes the most logical course is to utilize the nearest synonym to the concept you're trying to convey. This evolution of language is how "incel" went from complete obscurity, to suddenly being a ubiquitous word. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||