Definitions are rules for the translation of one language into another.
 Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921). copy citation

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Author Ludwig Wittgenstein
Source Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Topic language translation definitions
Date 1921
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by C. K. Ogden
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5740/5740-pdf.pdf

Context

“And this happens as a rule in philosophy: The single thing proves over and over again to be unimportant, but the possibility of every single thing reveals something about the nature of the world.
3.343 OGD [→GER | →P/M] Definitions are rules for the translation of one language into another. Every correct symbolism must be translatable into every other according to such rules. It is this which all have in common.
3.344 OGD [→GER | →P/M] What signifies in the symbol is what is common to all those symbols by which it can be replaced according to the rules of logical syntax.” source

Meaning and analysis

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