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by arduanika 809 days ago
Hmm, so if you're interested in my answer, I guess I would ask you how you want to proceed. Do we want to accept that OED is an trustworthy catalog of etymological facts, or not? If not, why? Do you think the quotes it pulls from the 1700's are fabricated? Do you think it's suppressing an earlier usage of "pale of settlement"? What is your claim, exactly?

You're the one whose source was quoting from OED, so you tell me. It'll be easier if we're starting from a shared ground truth.
1 comments
TRDRVR 809 days ago
No I just think all those quotes reference colonization.

Many people believe that specifically the Irish Pale popularized the statement, but the OED aren't among them.

What are we disagreeing about?

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arduanika 809 days ago
Where exactly is the reference to colonization in the Mackenzie quote? This one: "when we would be blessed beyond the pale of reason, we are blessed imperfectly". Sorry, I'm not seeing it.

"Many people believe..."

Name one. Have a free do-over: pick a source you actually agree with this time. Make sure it doesn't quote any reference books that you distrust.

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