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Another round of "What's that word?"
Jul. 21st, 2004 10:56 amSo yesterday I got into it with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
greektoomey, and had a fine time. I thanked him for being such a good adversary, and he got concerned. In my world, one's adversary is someone who is on the other side, but not hostile, like someone you are playing a game against. I derive this shade of meaning from the whole God/Satan thing, in which Satan is The Adversary. I've always sort of thought of those two as regular chess players, so my usage of the word reflects that. It was pointed out to me, though, that most people regard the opposition of God and Satan to be of a more serious sort, that they are in fact enemies, each bent on the destruction of the other.
So if I can't use "adversary" to denote an oppositional relationship based on competition with a respected equal or near-equal without hostility, what is the word for that?
( Some options: )
greektoomey, and had a fine time. I thanked him for being such a good adversary, and he got concerned. In my world, one's adversary is someone who is on the other side, but not hostile, like someone you are playing a game against. I derive this shade of meaning from the whole God/Satan thing, in which Satan is The Adversary. I've always sort of thought of those two as regular chess players, so my usage of the word reflects that. It was pointed out to me, though, that most people regard the opposition of God and Satan to be of a more serious sort, that they are in fact enemies, each bent on the destruction of the other.So if I can't use "adversary" to denote an oppositional relationship based on competition with a respected equal or near-equal without hostility, what is the word for that?
( Some options: )
