Talk:wordness

RFV discussion

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I have created the entry "wordness". However, I have difficulties finding proper citations for the definition "The quality of being a word". The term "wordness" alone can be found in Google books, but often used by non-native speakers of English, in unclear senses, and often in quotation marks. By contrast, I have no problem finding good citations for "wordhood", one even from Quine. Unlike "wordness", the term "wordhood" seems to be a regular formation, as the suffix "-ness" is typical for adjective-derived terms rather than for noun-derived terms, for which "-hood" is typical: "objecthood", "manhood", "parenthood". --Dan Polansky 11:31, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

Cited. Equinox ◑ 10:35, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

Some senses are cited, right, but I don't know what senses. The def "The quality of being a word or words" seems not to match the quotations. Only in the first quotation is wordness attributed to a word. In the second two quotations, I see wordness attributed to poetry and writing, as, the wordness of poetry, and the wordness of writing. I do not know what the wordness of poetry is supposed to be, but it is not "the quality of being a word or words", as poetry is not words, it consists of words. What the wordness of poetry could be is poetry's consisting of words rather than of incomprehensible combinations of morphemes. The second quotation implies that "the logos of true poetry" is "the wordness of true poetry", which is Greek to me.

I do not dispute that there are plenty of quotations for "wordness", but in what senses is beyond me. --Dan Polansky 18:00, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I don't know, it seems all right to me. Does anyone else have input? —Ruakh_TALK 20:52, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Dan that our definition doesn't fit the citations. I don't think that are very many more either. Perhaps we should have {{only in|Citations:wordness}}. DCDuring TALK 21:01, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

There seem to be citations at alt.usage.english that fit the sense given. There may even be a "lexicographic" sense: "suitability for treatment as a dictionary entry". DCDuring TALK 21:08, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I have added more quotations to the entry. I think the 1980, 1993 and 2008 quotations most clearly use the definition we list. - -sche 02:19, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

These added quotations are good enough for the current sense "The quality of being a word or words", as far as I am concerned; thanks! --Dan Polansky 18:18, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

RFV passed. Thanks, Equinox and -sche! —Ruakh_TALK 18:34, 25 February 2011 (UTC)