[FOM] "Literal"

[Chris Gray]

On Sat, 9 Sep 2006, Charles Silver wrote:

> P.S.  It's odd, isn't it, that such a wordsmith as Quine would use
> the term "literal".   I don't get it.

What exactly is your objection to the use of the term?

I presume you're thinking of the term as used of a literal translation or 
a literal interpretation of the law.  However, the most literal meaning 
of the term is "of or pertaining to letters of the alphabet; of the nature 
of letters, alphabetical" coming from the Latin _littera_, 'letter'.

Chris