Subject:
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Re: Darn those definitions (was: The new Super Car)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Fri, 6 Aug 1999 19:32:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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1257 times
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El Barista <caffiend@hotmail.com> wrote:
> to pointlessly extend the thread even more, here are actual definitions and
> not vague etymologies.
>
> quote:
> "hydraulic \Hy*drau"lic\, a. [F. hydraulique, L. hydraulicus, fr. Gr. ?, ?,
> a water organ; "y`dwr water + ? flute, pipe. See Hydra.] Of or pertaining to
> hydraulics, or to fluids in motion; conveying, or acting by, water; as, an
> hydraulic clock, crane, or dock."
> /quote
> ----------------
> Note the mention of "fluids in motion"
> ----------------
> quote:
> "fluid \Flu"id\, n. A fluid substance; a body whose particles move easily
> among themselves.
> Note: Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as species.
> Water, air, and steam are fluids. By analogy, the term is sometimes applied
> to electricity and magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic fluid,
> though not strictly appropriate."
> /quote
To pointlessly extend this discussion even further, here is what I get when
I look up hydraulic:
15% webster hydraulic
hy-drau-lic \h?^--'dro?-lik\ adj
[L hydraulicus, fr. Gk hydraulikos, fr. hydraulis hydraulic organ,
fr. hydr- + aulos reed instrument -- more at ALVEOLUS]
(1661)
1: operated, moved, or effected by means of water
2a: of or relating to hydraulics <hydraulic engineer>
2b: of or relating to water or other liquid in motion <hydraulic erosion>
3: operated by the resistance offered or the pressure transmitted when
a quantity of liquid (as water or oil) is forced through a comparatively
small orifice or through a tube <hydraulic brakes>
4: hardening or setting under water <hydraulic cement>
-- hy-drau-li-cal-ly \-li-k(e-)le^-\ adv
Note the definition specifically does NOT mention the word fluid, only the
words liquid, water, and oil.
My point here is that definitions vary depending on who you talk to, words
have meaning because we let words mean what we want or need to express,
languages grow and change over time and with usage, language is not precise
unless explicitly made to be such, and dictionaries certainly do not have
the final say when it comes to meaning, even if they do have the final say
when playing Scrabble.
My take on this whole discussion is that we shouldn't really argue over
definitions, since ultimately we will never completely agree on them
anyways. I think most of us would agree that Lego's use of the word
"hydraulic" was deceptive regardless of whether or not their use of that
word was correct. Certainly many people think that hydraulics implies
water/oil, and not air, because if somebody meant air they'd have used the
much clearer word pneumatics. Others were not as easily fooled, knowing
that Lego is unlikely to involve water/oil in a Technic set without hyping
it up explicitly, by adding those words to actual descriptions.
-Kekoa
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Darn those definitions -- ENDED
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| <HUGE SNIP, WE'RE TALKING 5 FOOT SCISSORS SNIP> OK!! My original post was simply to say that calling it hydraulic is not "false advertisement". Maybe misleading advertisement (isn't that redundant?), but technically not false. I'll admit, I'm (...) (25 years ago, 6-Aug-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Darn those definitions (was: The new Super Car)
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| to pointlessly extend the thread even more, here are actual definitions and not vague etymologies. quote: "hydraulic \Hy*drau"lic\, a. [F. hydraulique, L. hydraulicus, fr. Gr. ?, ?, a water organ; "y`dwr water + ? flute, pipe. See Hydra.] Of or (...) (25 years ago, 6-Aug-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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