I would like to point towards urban dictionary and different definitions of literally [1] that I found quite amusing, please excuse the language.
> a word with no meaning in today's USA.
Person 1: I am literally going to have a stroke if I see another tweet about fake news.
Person 2: Are you really? Should I call 911?
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> Who fucking knows anymore? First, it meant factual, and now it means fictional. What the fuck, internet... what the fuck?
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> a much misused adverb, often for emphasis
> "I literally died of embarrassment."
> "Really? How was reincarnation, you fucking illiterate dipshit?"
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> A good way to show that you are a total drama queen twit is to use the term 'literally' to describe every mundane thing that you do in life
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All of this begs the question, when does a definition of a word change? I suppose it happens when we collectively agree on it, or perhaps when a large enough segment of the population agrees. Perhaps at this point, literally can mean figuratively if we consider the misuse, in the same way we accept irregardless and regardless as being one and the same. But I suppose then a new word would be necessary to literally mean literally and avoid confusion.
> All of this begs the question, when does a definition change of a word change?
(This is a perfect context for “begs the question”)
I think that form of the question isn’t a useful one and that’s the issue in the broader discussion. A definition is a useful yet leaky abstraction. If you
take the viewpoint that a dictionary is merely descriptive, then “the” definition isn’t really a thing. “A” definition is more appropriate. If a definition is an attempt to capture one of the common ways people use and understand a word, your question becomes this:
When do the ways people use and understand a word change? At what point is there close enough to nobody left using a word in a given way?
The distinction is crucial here because a word can mean many things, and it can mean different things to different people. I’d answer your question by pointing to that phrase about science: It progresses one funeral at a time.
> a word with no meaning in today's USA. Person 1: I am literally going to have a stroke if I see another tweet about fake news. Person 2: Are you really? Should I call 911?
---
> Who fucking knows anymore? First, it meant factual, and now it means fictional. What the fuck, internet... what the fuck?
---
> a much misused adverb, often for emphasis
> "I literally died of embarrassment."
> "Really? How was reincarnation, you fucking illiterate dipshit?"
---
> A good way to show that you are a total drama queen twit is to use the term 'literally' to describe every mundane thing that you do in life
---
All of this begs the question, when does a definition of a word change? I suppose it happens when we collectively agree on it, or perhaps when a large enough segment of the population agrees. Perhaps at this point, literally can mean figuratively if we consider the misuse, in the same way we accept irregardless and regardless as being one and the same. But I suppose then a new word would be necessary to literally mean literally and avoid confusion.
[1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Literally