
Am I Missing Something?
March 27, 2013So an Army chaplain acquaintance of mine posed a question I too have been wondering. Thanks to Dictionary.com I have the definitions in question. But sadly, no answers.
dis·a·gree /ˌdɪs
əˈgri/ Show Spelled [dis-uh-gree] Show IPA
quar·rel
1 /ˈkwɔrəl, ˈkwɒr-/ Show Spelled [kwawr-uhl, kwor-] Show IPA noun, verb, quar·reled, quar·rel·ing or ( especially British ) quar·relled, quar·rel·ling.noun
1. an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
2. a cause of dispute, complaint, or hostile feeling: She has no quarrel with her present salary.
verb (used without object)
3. to disagree angrily; squabble; wrangle.
4. to end a friendship as a result of a disagreement.
5. to make a complaint; find fault.
OK, but can anyone tell me if they see the word hate in either definition? I think hate is one of those overused and incorrectly used words thrown out there like love, fair and fairness, bragging, rights, entitlements. What is the inconceivable phrase from Princess Bride? “I do not think it means what you think it means.” We are so quick to say “I hate oysters because they disagree with my stomach.” Really? You hate them? Isn’t that extreme? Perhaps this is yet another example the ravages of time on the English language as we become stupider and more dependent on technology. We have no idea what we’re saying but we’ll sure throw out words if they harm, inflicts damage, and batter anyone not in agreement with us to suit our own purposes.
So what is the definition of hate?
hate
/heɪt/ Show Spelled [heyt] Show IPA verb, hat·ed, hat·ing, noun
Related forms
Anyone hate me yet?
Nope – not missing it. I am working very hard to teach my children not to use the word hate. Dislike, yes. A child should be allowed to dislike something, but hate is too strong a word. There *is* a difference between the two, and I very much want them to understand that. Of course, this also means that I have to watch what I say as well, since children repeat what they hear. 🙂 I think I will share this with my oldest – especially since you provide the dictionary listings, he can’t give me the argument that he won’t go look things up! 🙂