Logomach

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who engages in disputes about the meanings of language and who argues excessively over trivial verbal distinctions
2. An individual who habitually argues about language, emphasizing trivial distinctions and interpretations while engaging in semantic disputes
3. Someone who frequently disputes the meaning of words or uses excessive argument about language distinctions

Etymology: Ancient Greek "logos" meant word, speech, or reason, and "makhē" meant battle or fight. Joined together, they gave "logomachia," a battle of words: a dispute fought over terms and phrasing rather than over the matter itself. A logomach is the person who fights that battle, someone who argues over wording and definitions until the argument has little to do with the subject. The second element, "-machy," appears in other learned English words, such as "theomachy," a fight against the gods. The first element, "logos," is the same root that gives English its "-logy" words like "biology" and "theology." So the word combines two of the most productive Greek building blocks in English scholarly vocabulary.