Clarity of meaning

Sveta Dorosheva- Allegorical Miniatures

“A man who has a language consequently possesses the world expressed & implied by that language. What we are getting at becomes plain: mastery of language affords remarkable power.” -Frantz Fanon

We read, write and speak words all the time. But, do we know what they really mean? Oftentimes, while reading or writing one comes across a common word, we understand its current meaning but do we know how this word came about, what is the root of the word, its real definition and why? 

Why is this important to correctly define a word?

DEFINITION= CLARITY OF MEANING

Definition- a statement of the exact meaning of the word. An exact statement or description of the nature, scope or meaning of something. 

We are looking for a definite meaning of a word, not a connotation or a maybe or something vague or infinite but a finite meaning. We want to make the word finite therefore de-finite. We want to narrow the focus, we're limiting, through words what something means so we can be clear about it. 

Another way that we can look at a definition is when we talk about visual/audio definition (technology)

The degree of distinctness or clarity of an object, image or sound.

So, why do people buy HD televisions? They want a higher definition, they want a higher clarity of the picture. The higher definition audio has a much better sound quality than low definition audio.

That's essentially what definition is. It all relates to clarity. When we use it in conjunction with words it means that the clarity of meaning is amplified.

The more accurate our definitions for words or concepts are, the better our clarity of meaning and therefore our understanding of those words or concepts will be. - Mark Passio

In this blog, I will be writing many words. For a lot of them, we take their meaning for granted, but hopefully, I will try to explore and explain their meaning and etymology. Clarify what those words try to convey. This is also the first step of the trivium process "the grammar". We could even say that this is a process that comes before the "grammar" stage. Comprehend the words we use and we will communicate them better.