• Worx@lemmynsfw.com
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    12 days ago

    If 90% of the population call them seagulls, and 99% of the population understand what you mean when you say “seagull”, then yes, they are actually called seagulls

    • brown567@sh.itjust.works
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      12 days ago

      It’s like what I say to bother botanists:

      If half of the fruits with “berry” in their name don’t fit your definition of berry, you need a new definition

      • Klear@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Pretty sure botanists are aware that the same word can have different meaning outside of their scientific field. The people actually bothered by this are pedants who read about it on the internet, not people who studied botany.

        • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          10 days ago

          A slight distinction:

          The people actually bothered by this are the friends of pedants who read about it on the internet, not people who studied botany.

          The pedants aren’t bothered, they’re elated they get to display faux superiority, I’m the one bothered by them!

          Lol