Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 16:51:57 +0200 From: Dag-Erling Smorgrav <des@ofug.org> To: Doug Barton <DougB@FreeBSD.org> Cc: cvs-all@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: cvs commit: doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/disks chapter.sgml Message-ID: <xzp8ytiq06q.fsf@flood.ping.uio.no> In-Reply-To: <20030506224205.J5620@znfgre.qbhto.arg> (Doug Barton's message of "Tue, 6 May 2003 22:42:52 -0700 (PDT)") References: <200305051936.h45JaAc4099544@repoman.freebsd.org> <20030506224205.J5620@znfgre.qbhto.arg>
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Doug Barton <DougB@FreeBSD.org> writes: > What's the purpose of this change? The words are basically synonyms, and > either is appropriate in context. "moot" has several meanings, and the "irrelevant" meaning is far down the list. Closer to the top you find meanings such as (noun) "meeting" and (verb) "to raise an issue" and (adj) "currently being discussed" which are antonymous to "irrelevant". Etymologically a moot is a formal meeting, the anglosaxon counterpart of the Norse Thing (viz. Tolkien's use of "Entmoot" for a meeting of Ent leaders) and the adjective form means "subject to discussion at a moot". Webster's 7th gives "open to question" and "subjected to discussion" as the primary meanings of the adjective "moot", and "deprived of practical significance" only as a secondary meaning. The fact that you consider "moot" a synonym of "irrelevant" is simply a product of your cultural background, and other people with different cultural backgrounds will not understand what is meant. DES -- Dag-Erling Smorgrav - des@ofug.org
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