Re: OFF-TOPIC Monopoly

["N. Sivin" nsivin@xxxxxxxx]

Most arguments about words that go on at boring length are
fuelled, like this one, by private definitions. It is not a
bad idea to go *promptly* to a good dictionary. OED gives,
not one sense of "monopoly," but seven. The oldest (1534) is
"exclusive possession of the trade in some article of
merchandise; the condition of having no competitor." The
early examples of this sense do not necessitate a license
from authority. That is a later and more restricted sense.

Enough of Gates-bashing, justified or not. Back to XyWrite!

Cheers,
--
Nathan Sivin
History and Sociology of Science
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia PA 19104-6304
(215) 898-7454
nsivin@xxxxxxxx