Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: gilliam
how many Americans know what the word repudiate means?

That's got something to do with reproductions "Right" </sarcasm>

56 posted on 08/05/2004 2:39:50 PM PDT by chainsaw (VOTE AMERICAN - VOTE REPUBLICAN)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies ]


To: chainsaw; gilliam
From the online Mirriam-Webster dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/):

Main Entry: re·pu·di·ate

Pronunciation: ri-'pyü-dE-"At

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): -at·ed; -at·ing

Etymology: Latin repudiatus, past participle of repudiare, from repudium rejection of a prospective spouse, divorce, probably from re- + pudEre to shame 1 : to divorce or separate formally from (a woman)

2 : to refuse to have anything to do with : DISOWN

3 a : to refuse to accept; especially : to reject as unauthorized or as having no binding force b : to reject as untrue or unjust

4 : to refuse to acknowledge or pay

The problem, as I see it, is that "repudiate" has several meanings, and furthermore that the MSM is taking full advantage of the ambiguity in this particular case-- while they write that the WH "repudiated" the veterans' claims, the WH press transcript clearly indicates a reluctance to do so expressly, and the only way in which the article can be brought into agreement with the facts is by using definition #2 ("to refuse to have anything to do with : DISOWN") whereas that probably is not the definition that most people would associate with the word (just imho-- in my case, I associated the word with definition #3).

60 posted on 08/05/2004 2:56:29 PM PDT by SteveH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson