>>One example I often use in discussing etymology is the English word
>>"patently." By definition, a "patent" must be non-obvious.
>>
>On the contrary, Joel. The original meaning of "patent" is "Obvious;
>[...]
That's interesting, and it reinforces my point. If "patent"
originally meant "obvious," that etymological bit of knowledge helps
not at all in deducing that in the US today, a "patent" is awarded
only for something that's not obvious.
Really, don't we all agree here that etymology doesn't tell you what a
word means?