• @AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Also: “a ruler in an oligarchy” isn’t exactly a helpful definition. “Hmm, yes. This floor is made out of floor.”

    Actually, dictionaries do this all the damn time. They always use the business end of a word in the definition of said word, without actually explaining what it means.

    • Vegafjord eo
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      22 years ago

      Often times dictionaries doesnt define every word. Instead they use recursive definitions. So since they mention, oligarchy, Id look that up in the next step.

    • Ephera
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      12 years ago

      I guess, the number of descriptions they would have to write would explode exponentially, if they didn’t do that.

      But yeah, really annoys me, too. When I write a definition I avoid similar words, even if I assume everyone knows that word, because it provides more information and is clearer when I use a synonym instead.
      And dictionaries, whose only job is to provide definitions, frequently settle for these shitty definitions.