On Thu, Aug 19, 2004 at 11:04:21PM -0500, Kent West wrote:
> Hopefully this won't offend anyone; I'm just curious.
>
> I often see posts on this list with subject lines like:
>
> Doubt about Debian Installation
>
> or
>
> Configuring PS/2 Mouse Doubts
>
> Is this word "doubt" a non-American-English-speaker's word for
> "question"? And if so, in that person's language, is "doubt" equivalent
> to "question", or is it just that they don't understand the use of the word?
>
> Or am I totally off-base, and am missing something?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
Doubt Doubt, n. OE. dute, doute, F. doute, fr. douter to
doubt. See Doubt, v. i.
1. A fluctuation of mind arising from defect of knowledge or
evidence; uncertainty of judgment or mind; unsettled state
of opinion concerning the reality of an event, or the
truth of an assertion, etc.; hesitation.
I would say that what is meant is precisely this fluctuation and
uncertainty of the mind with respect to the given topic.