xssve
Posts: 3589
Joined: 10/10/2009 Status: offline
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Usage technically defines the meaning of words, not the dictionary, which records the widest meanings, in usage, of a given word. Most words don't change radically in meaning, but pejoratives as a class have been something of a verbal football in the last Hundred years or so, as we emerge from theocratic feudalism, which, being a caste based system, relies heavily on use of pejoratives to maintain caste boundaries. As such, many pejoratives have no "meaning" per se, i.e., they are not necessarily descriptive - "thief" is a a descriptive pejorative, it refers to a specific transgression of a universal standard of behavior - "slut" can mean a lot of different things, but as a pejorative, it refers to a strictly subjective standard of behavior, and implies, but does not spell out, any specific transgressions of same. As discussed previously, the last time this came up (like Two weeks ago), etymologically it's a contraction of "slatternly", which simply means sloppy in general, the feminine of slob, and does not specifically imply anything about sexual habits. I personally lean towards Kalikshama's understanding, and the "ethical slut" as sort of the current "tonal center" of the word as she is used.
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