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by phendrenad2 1655 days ago
Sorry, linguists don't get to decide what words mean. Yes, you read that right. Words' meanings transcend any given definition, and all of the linguists in the world working 24/7 are insufficient to describe all of what a word means, in all places, at a given instant in time.

This is why the court "reasonable person" standards: Sometimes definitions aren't enough. You need context.

If an accountant, under oath says you committed "tax evasion" and then later says "Oh I meant the LINGUISTIC meaning of the word, silly you, you thought I meant the TRADE TERM that fits my PROFESSION? How silly of you" that won't fly, probably.