To Define

To Define: Who defines? The dictionary defines but this is obvious. And yet . . .

When Noah Webster first published his dictionary in 1828, he defined American as "A native of America; originally applied to the aboriginals, or copper colored races, found here by the Europeans; but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America, especially the inhabitants of the United States."

Thus I ask again, who defines? Well, I try sometimes. And so do you. Indeed all those who employ language sometimes define whether consciously or not. To consciously define is to exercise some power over discourse. But alas, that power is terribly limited. As Samuel Johnson defined to define in 1754: "to explain a thing by its qualities and circumstances. To circumscribe; to bound; to decide; to determine."

My definition of to define: The conscious navigation of the tides of language in order to make sense of the world; to define.