The

Abstract

Definition. The "definition" of a term, whether technical or otherwise, is a matter to be determined by usage and convenience. It is not a matter that is determined for us, once and forever, by divinity or by nature or by some objective reality. The concept expressed by the word "stove" is at least as variable as are the objects which the word is used to denote. "Usage" is variable with people, place, and time; our notions of "convenience" are likewise variable and are likely to be quite ill-founded as well.