of course english is decomposing! i can't read old or middle english, and i know less about german or latin. the language has so decomposed over the centuries that it bears no resemblance to what it once was!
and all along there has been confusion..
one of my favorites is the plant commonly known as columbine, --because some thought the flowers looked liked doves drinking water. the latin name, is (unspellable by me!-- aquaelgia?) from the latin name for an eagle-because other people thought the flowers looked like an eagles talons.. take about differing views!
so does an octopus have 8 feet (pod being latin for foot), or goes it have 8 arms..
well i guess its a matter of how you look at it.. for the most part, only primate have arms, (other animals have 4 legs, not arms and legs) to be consistant, an 8 armed creature is well, wrong, but an 8 footed creature is OK. i guess we'll have to launch an educational campaign to make sure no one refers to an octopus as having arms.
but hey, when or where were humans (in any language or any culture) consistant?
didn't someone say that "consistantcy is the hob-gobblin of small minds" --(and you want to make an arguement for consistancy in things that don't matter?.. isn't that a...(where is sprints wheel of adjectives? i could use an adjective right now) idea?)
