...Johnson approached each entry with the same overarching question: What does a word mean? You can answer this question many ways. You can turn to Latin roots, consult a committee of authoritative scholars, or follow logical principles about things like double negatives.
But Johnson's answer was simpler: a word means whatever the best writers say it means. He was convinced that no one - no emperor, no king and certainly no dictionary writer - had the authority to rule on meanings. Our language is the common property of all who have used it, and meanings come not from fiat but from precedent. ...
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