Incorrect. Etymology is the study of word origin. Myth comss from the Latin mythus comes from the Greek muthos.
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Etymology is the study of word origin AND how it evolved. It's essential for using the word correctly. The original word suggested truth, which means "myth" was being used incorrectly. The evolved word is the opposite, meaning it's STILL being used incorrectly.
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Yeah you really don't understand. Did you not just say evolve? If a word evolves then the meaning changes. It is not thereby "incorrect" the meaning has just shifted.
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Not in a single tweet in 2020 it hasn't. If we're intending to change the meaning again, ok, but all of the previous definitions contradict how the word was used here. It is, therefore, incorrect.
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You are thing to have to clarify. Do you mean that the word usage is incorrect due to the origin word muthos meaning truth? Or she is using it incorrectly because you disagree that systemic oppression is mythical? Or something else?
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Both. She said she suspected it's a myth, clearly meaning it doesn't exist, & the word as used is as something that never existed. Highly unlikely she meant it was "true," since most of her diatribe contradicts that. That leaves us w/ modern "myth," which is terribly inaccurate.
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Myth doesn't mean never existed. Myth means either related to cultural stories of legends/gods or a popular belief that is untrue.
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Because it comes from legends/gods, empiricism has determined they never existed. How many times do people refer to a "myth" they thought was actually true at one time?
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The meaning she was referring to was popular belief that is untrue. She is saying that the idea of systemic oppression in the United States in 2020 is untrue. She is using the word correctly.
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Using "myth" to describe racial oppression is terribly inaccurate. There are still vestiges of it, even if small & not nearly as pervasive as they used to be. She is using it incorrectly.
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That's why I said mostly. I don't really think it's entirely a myth.
Hate to belabor this, but that's why I said the word was inappropriate. Referring to something as "mostly mythical" creates too many problems, not the least of which is self-contradiction. This is why I centered my criticism on language.
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