I think you have it the other way around. Definitions are based on language. Language is based on meaning. I knew the meaning of the word “red” before I had any definition for it, and I’d guess that so did you.
(with a smile) Perhaps we need to define definition. True that definitions are based on language. Also true, I believe, that if language is to communicate effectively, it will need commonly understood meanings for specific sounds/symbols. I may “see as red” what you “see as orange”. My guess is that we both saw and could differentiate between colors before we knew the commonly accepted terms for them.
I think you have it the other way around. Definitions are based on language. Language is based on meaning. I knew the meaning of the word “red” before I had any definition for it, and I’d guess that so did you.
(with a smile) Perhaps we need to define definition. True that definitions are based on language. Also true, I believe, that if language is to communicate effectively, it will need commonly understood meanings for specific sounds/symbols. I may “see as red” what you “see as orange”. My guess is that we both saw and could differentiate between colors before we knew the commonly accepted terms for them.