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Originally Posted by TIO
Actually, TTT, Merriam-Webster says that 'gender' is synonymous with 'sex'....
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Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive, and should not be
confused with usage guides. A dictionary will (correctly) tell you
that people use "infer" to mean "imply," or "enormity" to mean
"hugeness," or "stakeholder" to mean "interested party," even
though all three are incorrect and to be shunned.
Languages need trail blazers so that they don't stagnate. They
also need linguistic reactionaries such as myself, so that they
don't become hopeless hodgepodges of meaningless noises.