> What does "presently" mean? It means whatever
>the majority of English speakers believe it
> means. Right now it's a word in transition.
>Some people use it to mean "now", others use it
>to mean "soon." Dictionaries can't keep up with
>the rate of language change, and they're only a
>guide to current usage. If half the world
>suddenly decided tomorrow that "presently"
>means "light orange in colour", and started
>using it as such, that's what it would mean, no
>matter what the OED says.

I just use the OED as the "definitive" dictionary. I don't care what all the others say, I want to know what's in the OED. Because the OED will give you tons more than just definitions, it will give you histories of every word and tell you exactly when each word came into common use, what the earliest recorded usage in print of each word is, yadda yadda yadda.

Doesn't mean it's necessarily "correct", but it works for me. I'm comfortable settling debates by whatever the OED says, is what it comes down to.

> The meaning of each word in the English (or any
>other) language was not set in stone for all
>time on the day of creation. There isn't
>any "correct" meaning, there's only the accepted
>current meaning - which can vary between places
>or cultures.

Yadda yadda, blah blah blah, yadda yadda, yeah, I know. Doesn't stop people from arguing about it, does it? How many times have we had the "irregardless" debate on this forum? That's why I like to use one "definitive" source, and settle debates that way. If the OED says "irregardless" is a word, I'll accept that. I'll hate it, but I'll accept it, because I consider it to be the best researched most comprehensive dictionary of the English language in existence. Likewise, if the OED says "presently" can't mean "right now", I'll accept that too.

It all comes down to settling debates, and the only way I can see to settle debates like this is to agree on a source that both parties will accept the authority of. For me, that's the OED.

> Of course, knowing this to be true does not
>mean that I have any less desire to strangle
> people who use "presently" to mean THE WRONG
>THING.
>

Personally, I can't understand how presently *couldn't* have a meaning of "right now". At the same time, in a different context, it could have the meaning "soon". *shrug*.

> Brunnen-"and MOMENTARILY too"G
>

What's the "wrong" usage of "momentarily"?

-- Dave