[Steven D'Aprano] > If you go back far enough, pretty much all words and written symbols are > arbitrary.
I think this is wandering into nihilistic pedantry. Go back or forward far enough (or zoom in or out far enough) and nothing means anything. When I first learned Python, I had never heard the word "tuple" but as soon as I saw it, it made sense to me. It comes from the latin suffix for adjectives relating to multiples of things: "-uple" It's been around long enough to make its way into many common words (triple, tuplet, multiple) and many languages. That context makes it easy to remember. My guess is: even if you've only learned basic English, you have a far greater chance of being able to remember the meaning "tuple" over "lambda". Possibly even if you've never learned English, your chances of being able to relate "tuple" to relevant concepts is higher than being able to anchor "lambda" to anything relevant. [Steven D'Aprano] > As I posted earlier, lambda has become a standard term I would agree that it's become a known term among computer scientists and maybe even the majority of professional programmers, but: 1) There are several terms commonly used interchangeably for the same concept including 'anonymous function', 'function literal', even 'deferred expression' works in the context of Python because the implementation only allows for a single expression (or implicit return statement?). So I don't think it has been standardized in the sense that it's the one, agreed upon, term. 2) being known of, does not equate to being well known. I've heard of a "busy beaver", but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what it is. Lay people have heard of and talk about DNA or genes or genetics, but if you ask them what a codon is, most people's faces will go blank. The jargon of genetics is known about only in vague terms. 3) You've provided documentation from several languages to show that the term is used, but have you compared that to the usage of other terms? 4) Sometimes standardized terms can still be warty. There are plenty of terms in Science and Engineering that have confused roots and confusing consequences, but are too ingrained to abandon. The term "Rare Earth Metals" was coined in the late 18th century even though many of the elements are quite plentiful. Anonymous function or function literal are actually descriptive. Why not back those horses? [Steven D'Aprano] > There's nothing function-like about "lambda", but there's nothing > function-like about "function" either. I'm not sure what you mean by that.
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