Extensionist

/ɪkˈstɛnʃənɪst/ noun

Definition

A person who believes in or advocates for extensionalism; someone who emphasizes the actual referents or scope of terms in logic and philosophy.

Etymology

From 'extension' plus '-ist', which creates nouns for people who hold a particular belief or practice. The '-ist' suffix is highly productive in English.

Kelly Says

Extensionists and intentionalists have been having a friendly academic debate for centuries about what really determines a word's meaning—and it turns out this distinction matters hugely for everything from computer science to legal interpretation!

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