Alas, no, but we do have important reference works that might be pretty difficulty to parse (or even be aware of) for a non-specialist. Like, here's a page from the Prosopographia Imperii Romani, a standard reference work in ancient history:
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I'd love to be able to read latin so that i can work with a better range of early modern texts. But even in English, the meaning and qualities of words and definitions shift drastically and you need reams of context not to get wildly off track.
jul 26, 2025, 7:00 pm • 3 0 • view
One good example is "artificial", which has shifted in connotations from generally high quality to generally low quality. Is there a technical name for this shift?
jul 26, 2025, 7:00 pm • 2 0 • view
Huh; I suppose that would imply a similar shift in "artifice" from emphasizing skilled construction to emphasizing the unreality of it.
jul 26, 2025, 7:04 pm • 2 0 • view
Yes, exactly.
jul 26, 2025, 7:07 pm • 1 0 • view