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Stenka25 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
The meaning of a phrase
the meaning of a phrase
The passage below comes from the following website.
Can you tell me the meaning of the underlined “touching or otherwise”?
I cannot figure what it refers to even though I tried hard.
http://awaisaftab.blogspot.kr/2012/05/semantic-version-of-russells-paradox.html
Here goes: There are two kinds of words, those that refer to themselves (autological) and those that don’t (heterological). Some examples of autological words are “short” (which is a short word), “polysyllabic” (which has several syllables), and our favorite, “seventeen-lettered” (which has seventeen letters). Examples of heterological words are “knockkneed” (a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise) and “monosyllabic” (a word that has more than one syllable).
The passage below comes from the following website.
Can you tell me the meaning of the underlined “touching or otherwise”?
I cannot figure what it refers to even though I tried hard.
http://awaisaftab.blogspot.kr/2012/05/semantic-version-of-russells-paradox.html
Here goes: There are two kinds of words, those that refer to themselves (autological) and those that don’t (heterological). Some examples of autological words are “short” (which is a short word), “polysyllabic” (which has several syllables), and our favorite, “seventeen-lettered” (which has seventeen letters). Examples of heterological words are “knockkneed” (a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise) and “monosyllabic” (a word that has more than one syllable).
Top answer
knock-kneed = an animal whose legs are not straight. Their legs are bent inward so their knees touch when they stand or walk. (a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise ) = the word has no knees, neither normal knees nor malformed knees.
- knock-kneed = an animal whose legs are not straight.
- Their legs are bent inward so their knees touch when they stand or walk.
- (a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise ) = the word has no knees, neither normal knees nor malformed knees.
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3 Answers
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knock-kneed = an animal whose legs are not straight. Their legs are bent inward so their knees touch when they stand or walk.
(a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise) = the word has no knees, neither normal knees nor malformed knees.
(a word that has no knees, touching or otherwise) = the word has no knees, neither normal knees nor malformed knees.
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It's slightly humorous.
To be autological, the word "knockkneed" would need to have knees that were "touching", i.e. knocking together. Actually, the word does not have knees at all, whether knees that knock together or any other sort of knees.
To be autological, the word "knockkneed" would need to have knees that were "touching", i.e. knocking together. Actually, the word does not have knees at all, whether knees that knock together or any other sort of knees.
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Thanks a lot for your immediate and considerate answer, AlpheccaStars.
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