Words , the World , and Their Possibilities

By the principle of possibilities, we understand what an entity is with reference to what it could have been. The word red, for example, belongs to both a domain of lexical possibilities (all English words) and a domain of conceptual possibilities (all conceivable denotations). But on any occasion, the word is intended to be understood against much narrower domains. Speakers and addressees restrict the domains on the basis of their momentary common ground-the information that they believe they share and that is readily accessible at the moment. For an utterance of red potato, the two domains might be the primary color words and the possible colors of potatoes. The color denoted by red, therefore, changes with the occasion of use; compare red cabbages and red hair, or a face that is redfrom sunburn, embarrassment, or clown makeup. Word meanings, I argue, are not static dictionary entries but products of a lexical process.