Hacker News Reader

Comment by unlikelymordant | Hacker News Reader

Etymologically there are 3 and 4 way couplings... latin copula just means 'joined', nothing about 2.

Yes, but in the English derivation of the Latin, it explicitly means two.

No - common usage is clearly more than 2. In the context of relationships I completely agree because no one says "They are a two".

But when you are in the context of quantity, "a couple" is a quicker way of saying "between 2 and 3/4/5" .

There are no "rules" in English, only conventions. It is a product of whoever speaks it and whatever they bring with them, and as such is forever changing and evolving without any control or authority.

> No - common usage is clearly more than 2.

This whole thread is baffling to me because in my entire life, I have only ever heard people use "couple" to mean "two".

Isn't that basically what we are debating about? It is clear that "common" usage differs substantially where while some use your definition, others mean mine. And anyway, it is also clear that, based on many dictionaries, the original definition at least always meant two.

There are no definitions. Citing Latin is pointless and argumentative. Please let go and live your life.

I did not cite Latin, for the record, looks like you're thinking of the other person in this thread. But yes, words definitely have definitions, whether one wants to debate their meanings is a different matter.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com