[Corpora-List] Quotation (lexicography)

[John F. Sowa]

On 9/7/2010 4:01 AM, Laura Lofberg wrote:
> someone has said 'a word has as many meanings as a lexicographer cares
> to perceive'

Alan Cruse coined a good word for the phenomenon:  microsense.

 From his _Glossary of Semantics and Pragmatics_, p. 108:

   "The microsenses of a word are distinct readings that behave in some
   respects like ambiguous readings, but which, unlike the latter, can
   be subsumed under an inclusive reading.  An example of a word with
   microsenses is _ball_.  There are different sorts of ball, but in
   normal use, only one of these is intended..."

http://books.google.com/books?id=v72E26s6JTkC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=cruse+microsense&source=bl&ots=WHH9WQDxIR&sig=8yLs84qg4DO01sPNqe82BtZkS48&hl=en&ei=fz-GTLzSKIKBlAfw3uCyDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=true

John Sowa

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