What does “it” mean? By “it,” we might mean the latest trending word such as “disintermediation” or “herd immunity.” By “it,” we might mean “what is a click thru?,” or “What does ‘zoonotic’ mean?” Or we might even mean what does “meaning” itself mean? What is meaning? What is meaningful?

Meaning is the most fundamental question in language; words are symbols that stand in for objects, for people, and even for ideas. But words are messy – one word might have a one-to-one relationship with an object in reality, but many words have one-to-many relationships. Words can be confusing as in a “double entendre,” in which one word or a sentence has two meanings that are unclear in a funny or strange way.

As in “Children make nutritious snacks,” or “military intelligence” or “Utopia.”

And often times, we gloss over a word, whether that word is “God” or “immortality” or even just “marketing,” assuming we know what it means. When, if we stop and think about it, do we really? What do you mean by God? Is it what I mean? And is it what God means if he exists? We might believe in God, but does God believe in us?

WordSophy, in summary, is a blog about meaning. Let’s get started.