Words

I have written numerous times about words. They are simply fascinating to me because they are our ‘go to’ means of communication and yet they are our most unreliable means of communicating. I think this is especially true for the English language. There are so many words that sound alike, even spelled the same way, but have entirely different meanings either on their own or depending on the context in which they are used. It is amazing that we are able to communicate anything with words.

Suppose

One of those words is suppose. Suppose is a verb with two meanings. One is to assume that something is the case on this basis of evidence but without proof. The second is to be required to do something because of the position one is in or has agreed to. It is intriguing to me that one is belief based and one is reality based. These are typically considered opposites, belief and reality, but they are both used to describe the same word.

When I ask people what they think the meaning of suppose is, they almost always start with something like, what I have to do or what the right thing is to do. It often seems to be about a requirement, obligation, duty or necessity (reality based). And it always seems to be void of choice or if a different choice was made, it was wrong and somewhat rebellious (belief based). It makes sense that this is what people would respond with as it is the more accepted definition, at least it has been since the mid 1800’s.

If we go with the first meaning regarding assuming, we can take this word into an entirely different direction. Assume is believe, pretend, adopt, acquire, infer, postulate, imagine, hypothesize, guess, theorize…way different that requirement or obligation. Starting with assume opens up endless possibilities. It offers an opportunity to think. This is more of what you find when you research the etymology of the word. Both are necessary. There are times for obligations and times for imagining.

How do we consider the two meanings of Suppose

Do we rob ourselves of one or the other because we forget that there is more than one meaning to a word or words that sound alike? Do we ever ask for clarification? Should we bother to take context into account? And what about how we feel when we hear a word? If you only knew suppose to mean an obligation and someone asked you to suppose the world was different in some way, would you feel obligated or captivated by the possibility to think differently?

I think a lot of people think their life is a bunch of supposed to stuff. But is it supposed to be that way or are we to suppose something more than mere necessity and duty?

There is a quote by Monimus that states “Everything is what you suppose it to be.” I like that use of the word. It simply feels better. Feeling better is always a good thing.