Actually understanding the meaning of words

I suggest instead of reading wikipedia pages on words you read the wikipedia language on linguistic anthropology and get an understanding of what a word is and how they are used.

>>9703046
Read those pages you dumbass

>>9703048
I understand how they are used normally but to really understand the description of a word, for example knowledge (which is quite hard by itself) would take days to as both is the word controversial and it has link to many others.
>>9703051
I usually am but it seems like its taking forever

>>9703083
and yet here we are, talking perfectly fine using words. language is fluid, words change over time, new words are invented and old words fall away.

some examples are the words "jealousy" and "literally" have been changing in meaning in recent times. people use "jealousy" as a synonym for "envy", unfortunately, as I find the two concepts being distinct rather useful. the use of the word "literally" as hyperbolic emphasis in recent times is rather ironic. the word "unironically" has slowly began to replace it's traditional usage. unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a replacement for jealousy.

>>9703098
>and yet here we are, talking perfectly fine using words.
Is that all you could say? When I read philosophy the things look quite different

>>9703046

Sometimes I will write a long paragraph, sit back and wonder what some of the words I used actually mean. I'll look them up and find I used them correctly, but only because I'd seen them used before in that manner.

Knowing what words actually mean can be an impediment to understanding. For example the words "stupid" and "dumb" actually mean "silent." But they are not used in that way. Or the word "retard" it means "to tarry" or "delay" which as a noun is considered derogatory, except for the fact that there is no such noun to begin with, as retard is a verb.