MEANINGS: TAXONOMY and INTERNECINE

I was just watching an interview on YouTube, and one of the speakers used the word taxonomy. In her reply, the other speaker used the word internecine. I'd never used either word in a sentence, so I decided to look them up.

Meaning of taxonomy: the branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematics; the classification of something, especially organisms; a scheme of classification. (Spellcheck hates systematics.)

Meaning of internecine: destructive to both sides in a conflict; relating to conflict within a group.

I think the first speaker was using taxonomy for "a scheme of classification", and the other speaker was using internecine for "relating to conflict within a group."

But I could be wrong.

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MEANING: DISCURSIVE

Donald Trump was just described as discursive, so I looked it up.

Discursive has several meanings, but this seems to be the most relevant one: digressing from subject to subject. 

That sounds about right.

*

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing