Nords said:
Dude, even classical Greek & Latin evolved-- and so should you!
Nords--Heehee...that was MY line, back in my editing days!
Setab--Begs the question (used to :
) mean claiming as true that which you're trying to prove, that the statement is based on circular reasoning. For example, "Flowers are pretty because they look so beautiful" begs the question.
Here's some good stuff from the link I provided earlier (well, it's good stuff if you're a former editor...YMMV):
The original sense is of a logical fallacy, of taking for granted or assuming the thing that you are setting out to prove. To take an example, you might say that lying is wrong because we ought always to tell the truth. That’s a circular argument and makes no sense. Another instance is to argue that democracy must be the best form of government because the majority is always right. The fallacy was described by Aristotle in his book on logic in about 350BC. His Greek name for it was turned into Latin as petitio principii and then into English in 1581 as beg the question. Most of our problems arise because the person who translated it made a hash of it. The Latin might better be translated as “laying claim to the principle”.
Very often, the fact that you are using the matter to be proved as part of your argument is a good deal more subtle than in these examples. It comes across rather as an attempt to evade the issue or avoid giving a straightforward answer, making the phrase mean “avoid the question”. This meaning of the phrase is common and most authorities agree it is now part of standard English.
The meaning you give is the newest. It is gaining ground, and one or two recent dictionaries claim that it is now acceptable—the New Oxford Dictionary of English, for example, says it is “widely accepted in modern standard English”. I wouldn’t go so far myself. Because of possible confusion over what you actually mean, and inevitable condemnation from people who have taken the trouble to find out what it once did mean, it’s better avoided altogether.
