5 - Hidden Structure and Function in the Lexicon

Abstract

Dictionaries catalogue and define the words of a language. In principle, since every word in a dictionary is defined, it should be possible to learn the meaning of any word through verbal definitions alone. However, in order to understand the meaning of the word that is being defined, we have to understand the meaning of the words used to define it. If not, we have to look up the definition of those words too. However, if we have to keep looking up the definition of each of the words used to define a word, and then the definition of each of the words that define the words that define the words, and so on, we will eventually come full circle, never having learned a meaning at all.