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Swordsmyth
03-31-2018, 04:30 PM
Soon after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary changed its definition of “assault rifle.”
The entry for “assault rifle,” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault%20rifle) which was updated March 31, 2018, reads as follows:

noun: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire; also : a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire
After 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, activists have been using the tragic events to make (https://marchforourlivespetition.com/) the sale of so-called “assault weapons” illegal.
An Internet archive search shows the Mirriam-Webster entry for “assault rifle” appears to be different now than it was before the shooting. A cached version of the same entry (http://archive.is/qn9LB) from June 13, 2016 has this definition:

noun: a gun that can shoot many bullets quickly and that is designed for use by the military
“Assault weapon” and “assault rifles” are malleable terms often used in public discourse to scare people. After all, all guns are designed to “assault” something. The usual proper use of this term (https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2016/06/23/learn-gun-speak-before-arguing-against-firearms-column/86226712/) is to describe fully automatic machine-gun-style weapons, which in the United States have been banned from civilian use for years. Notice that the Merriam-Webster change stretches this definition to include anything that looks like such a gun regardless of whether it shoots like one.

More at: http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/31/merriam-webster-online-dictionary-changes-definition-assault-rifle-parkland-shooting/

aGameOfThrones
03-31-2018, 09:18 PM
1791: “well regulated” to be well equipped and maintained
2018: “well regulated” to make endless rules without logic or reason

Superfluous Man
03-31-2018, 09:36 PM
In their defense, their role is not prescriptive, but descriptive. They change their published definitions according to how terms are used in practice by actual people.

There's no doubt that this shift in usage of the term "assault rifle" results from deliberate manipulation of the language via propaganda. But I agree with Webster's dictionary that such a shift in the way the term is most commonly used has taken place. The dictionary is just the messenger.

timosman
03-31-2018, 10:33 PM
Nothing beats Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle - an edit from 3/7/2006 started attributing the term to Adolf Hitler. The text eventually became:


The term assault rifle is generally attributed to Adolf Hitler, who for propaganda purposes used the German word "Sturmgewehr" (which translates to "storm rifle" or "assault rifle"), as the new name for the MP43, subsequently known as the Sturmgewehr 44 or StG 44

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assault_rifle&action=historysubmit&type=revision&diff=42688068&oldid=40563851

RonZeplin
04-01-2018, 12:05 AM
fully automatic machine-gun-style weapons, which in the United States have been banned from civilian use for years.

Not true. There are many infringements including the Reagan ban on newly manufactured auto weapons, but existing ones are legal if you have the tax stamp.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwW4PEeuL_Q

Anti Federalist
11-16-2021, 05:33 PM
///

CCTelander
11-16-2021, 06:14 PM
I always thought that relying on the technical definition of "assault rifle" to protect our rights was really just a chickenshit dodge anyway. The truth is that fully automatic selective fire "assault rifles" are and have always been squarely within 2nd Amendment protection, and even if the 2nd disappeared tomorrow the right to arms would still exist.

Anti Federalist
11-16-2021, 06:16 PM
I always thought that relying on the technical definition of "assault rifle" to protect our rights was really just a chickenshit dodge anyway. The truth is that fully automatic selective fire "assault rifles" are and have always been squarely within 2nd Amendment protection, and even if the 2nd disappeared tomorrow the right to arms would still exist.

Yes, this.

Anti Federalist
11-16-2021, 06:46 PM
Not true. There are many infringements including the Reagan ban on newly manufactured auto weapons, but existing ones are legal if you have the tax stamp.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwW4PEeuL_Q

Love it!

A few comments:

1 - Freedom goes BRRRRRRRTTTTTT.

2 - The Steyr AUG bullpup design I have never cared for, but in watching closely it seemed one of the most stable full auto rifles there.

3 - At 17:45 I thought:

"Gooks Sir!!! There's Gooks on the wire sir!!! Go get The Roach niggga!!!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W82YyP9nleQ

kahless
11-16-2021, 07:53 PM
After reading both threads about Merriam, maybe it is time to bring back good ol'fashion book burning.

Anti Federalist
11-16-2021, 08:16 PM
After reading both threads about Merriam, maybe it is time to bring back good ol'fashion book burning.

Did you ever take a minute to see just what books, exactly, the Brownshirts were burning?

kahless
11-16-2021, 08:43 PM
Did you ever take a minute to see just what books, exactly, the Brownshirts were burning?

Seems they were right about some things. Sadly people would connect the people burning Merriam books to being Nazi's.