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Which word has the most meanings?
The candidates seem to be set, run and get.
Anyone know for sure?
* Pace the Latinists.
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here's one possible answer:
The word SET has the most definitions of any word in the English language. SET has 464 definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary. Here's how the others stack up:
RUN - 396 (defs.)
GO - 368
TAKE - 343
STAND - 334
GET - 289
TURN - 288
PUT - 268
FALL - 264
STRIKE - 250
source: puzzles.about.com
edit: I'd be extremely skeptical about these numbers -- just look at the OED entries for the headword {set, v.1}, for example (1 of 8 headwords for set). not to tax your patience, but the entry map looks something like this:
A
1
a
b
c
d
2
3
B
I
1
a
b
c
d
2
3
4
b
c
d
5
a
b
c
d
e
6
a
b
7
II
8
9
a
b
c
10
III
11
a
b
12
a
b
c
d
13
14
a
b
c
15
a
b
c
d
16
17
a
b
18
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
19
a
b
c
d
20
a
b
c
d
21
a
b
22
23
IV
24
a
b
25
a
b
26
a
b
c
d
27
28
a
b
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
a
b
38
39
a
b
40
41
42
43
a
b
44
V
45
46
47
a
b
c
48
49
50
51
a
b
c
52
53
54
a
b
c
d
e
55
a
b
c
56
a
b
57
a
b
58
a
b
VI
59
60
a
b
61
62
63
a
b
c
64
a
b
65
a
b
66
67
a
b
68
a
b
c
d
69
70
71
a
b
c
72
73
a
b
c
74
75
a
b
76
a
b
77
78
79
80
81
a
b
82
83
84
85
a
b
86
VII
87
88
a
b
89
a
b
c
d
90
91
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
VIII
92
a
b
c
93
a
b
c
94
a
b
95
a
b
c
d
e
96
a
b
97
a
b
c
d
98
a
b
c
99
100
a
b
c
101
102
103
104
a
b
IX
105
a
b
106
107
a
b
c
108
a
b
c
d
109
110
111
a
b
112
a
b
c
113
a
b
c
114
a
b
c
d
e
115
116
a
b
117
a
b
c
d
X
118
a
b
119
120
a
b
121
a
b
122
a
b
123
a
b
c
d
124
b
125
a
b
126
XI
127
a
b
128
a
b
c
129
130
a
b
131
132
a
b
c
d
XII
133
134
a
b
135
a
b
136
137
a
b
c
d
138
a
b
c
d
139
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
140
a
b
c
141
a
b
c
142
a
b
c
d
143
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
144
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
145
a
b
c
d
146
a
b
c
d
e
f
147
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
148
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
149
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
150
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
151
152
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
153
a
b
c
d
154
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
bb
cc
dd
ee
ff
gg
hh
ii
jj
kk
ll
mm
nn
oo
pp
qq
rr
is that 157 "definitions", or something else??
edit2: my curiosity got the best of me, and it looks like it's definitely "something else" -- my best guess is, that to arrive at anything approaching the above numbers, they counted each entry as a definition; i.e., 154a is one.. 154b is another.. 154rr is yet another...
whoever completed that count is on a serious fixed income!
Last edited by tsuwm; 02/22/07 03:44 PM.
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Quote:
whoever completed that count is on a serious fixed income!
Who typed that list in then? (^_^) BTW, I pasted it into Excel and there are 558 lines.
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>558 lines
deleting the Is, IIs, As, Bs, etc. (which are merely groupings) would still leave a bit too many; I will have to remain skeptical I guess.
(here's the way the headwords break down, these numbers are easily arrived at from the entry maps:
n[1] 33
n[2] 15
a 1
ppl 10
v[1] 157
v[2] 1
conj 1
this totals to only 218)
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My WA Guess is: This one line 136 ... is one meaning (basically 136a), but these 5 lines... 137 a b c d ... are only 4 meanings 137a, 137b, 137c, 137d so you need to count the number if there are no following letters, but only count the letters otherwise. Sorry I'm to lazy to actually try it. 
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Wow. I find it extraordinary that three letters can hold so much meaning!
Do those numbers include the many phrasal verbs for set?
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Quote:
Wow. I find it extraordinary that three letters can hold so much meaning!
Sadly, when a word holds so many meanings it becomes meaningless. (or almost useless)
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Quote:
Quote:
Wow. I find it extraordinary that three letters can hold so much meaning!
Sadly, when a word holds so many meanings it becomes meaningless. (or almost useless)
Yet as ever, through the miracles of context and redundancy, we persevere.
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Wow. I find it extraordinary that three letters can hold so much meaning!
Sadly, when a word holds so many meanings it becomes meaningless. (or almost useless)
Yet as ever, through the miracles of context and redundancy, we persevere.
game, set, and match.
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I'm game (so to speak). I think I'm set, too. As for the matches, I got them, too. Need them to light the stove.
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