In principio erat verbum 

Apparently, there are a bunch of words written about how no one is very sure about the origin of the word, "word."

(Thanks Stanford you did try- https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/word-meaning/)

(I do like the term "For Present Purposes"- as in, "This is what we've got, now let's get on with it.")

For the most part, words are deciphered from their associates- the words before, and the words after. I would not call it "context," as I believe that word in itself has an even broader use. But in this case, it technically is. (See.)

Actually, Stanford prefers to go with the term "lexeme," and I like that too. But that is not a term of general usage. But it is better.

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