Tag Archives: Begriffsgeschichte

Further Thoughts on “the Enlightenment,” the OED, the History of Concepts

Last week’s post ended with some misgivings about the distinction Koselleck drew between the “history of concepts” and the “history of words.” Admittedly, the distinction seems plausible enough: since concepts can be designated by a number of different words (e.g., … Continue reading

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The Enlightenment, the OED, and the History of Concepts, with Ngrams

In the fall of 2010, the online Oxford English Dictionary revised its entry for “Enlightenment.” Since 1891 the definition had read as follows: 1. The action of enlightening; the state of being enlightened …. [I]mparting or receiving mental or spiritual … Continue reading

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