There's a lot to be said for a language being consistent, though.
You might never have heard the word "hypothermia", but if you've heard its two components, you'll still have a semi-accurate idea of what it means, and a pretty damn accurate one with a tiny bit of context. We keep using these Greek words and it works because we use them consistently.
The term "Necromancy" does bother me a lot. Some idiot decided to use it for generic "evil wizard reanimates the dead" fantasy BS, and as a result, for most people that's what it means now, true. But someone who's never heard that interpretation is going to go with the interpretation that the word's components convey, which is divination via the dead. Objectively, the world would be a better place if we used words consistently instead of changing their meaning and pretending there are no negative consequences. That guy who first used "Necromancy" the wrong way? We should have slapped him with a rolled-up newspaper and told him "No! No! Bad writer!". We wouldn't be stuck with same words having different meanings if we just stuck to the original ones.
"Taur"? Someone who's never heard the word is going to guess it means "bull", so it's a highly unideal way to name creatures with a human's upper body where an animal's head should be. We should have found a proper word for them, but instead some idiot started saying "taur" and now we're going to be stuck with that objectively misleading word.
You might never have heard the word "hypothermia", but if you've heard its two components, you'll still have a semi-accurate idea of what it means, and a pretty damn accurate one with a tiny bit of context. We keep using these Greek words and it works because we use them consistently.
The term "Necromancy" does bother me a lot. Some idiot decided to use it for generic "evil wizard reanimates the dead" fantasy BS, and as a result, for most people that's what it means now, true. But someone who's never heard that interpretation is going to go with the interpretation that the word's components convey, which is divination via the dead. Objectively, the world would be a better place if we used words consistently instead of changing their meaning and pretending there are no negative consequences. That guy who first used "Necromancy" the wrong way? We should have slapped him with a rolled-up newspaper and told him "No! No! Bad writer!". We wouldn't be stuck with same words having different meanings if we just stuck to the original ones.
"Taur"? Someone who's never heard the word is going to guess it means "bull", so it's a highly unideal way to name creatures with a human's upper body where an animal's head should be. We should have found a proper word for them, but instead some idiot started saying "taur" and now we're going to be stuck with that objectively misleading word.
