sense or meaning
of the name, or its Connotation, and limit its applicability to such
things as have these characteristic qualities. 'Sheep' for example, is
used in the same sense, to denote any of a multitude of animals that
resemble one another: their size, shape, woolly coats, cloven hoofs,
innocent ways and edibility are well known. When we apply to anything
the term 'sheep,' we imply that it has these qualities: 'sheep,'
denoting the animal, connotes its possessing these characteristics; and,
of course, it cannot, without a figure of speech or a blunder, be used
to denote anything that does not possess all these qualities. It is by a
figure of speech that the term 'sheep' is applied to some men; and to
apply it to goats would be a blunder.

Most people are very imperfectly aware of the connotation of the words
they use, and are guided in using them merely by the custom of the
language. A man who employs a word quite correctly may be sadly posed by
a request to explain or define it. Moreover, so far as we are aware of
the connotation of terms, the number and the kind of attributes we
think of, in any given case, vary with the depth of our interest, and
with the nature of our interest in the things denoted. 'Sheep' has one
meaning to a touring townsman, a much fuller one to a farmer, and yet a
different one to a zoologist. But this does not prevent them agreeing in
the use of the word, as long as the qualities they severally include in
its meaning are not incompatible.

All general names, and therefore not only class-names, like 'sheep,' but
all attributives, have some connotation. 'Woolly' denotes anything that
bears wool, and connotes the fact of bearing wool; 'innocent' denotes
anything that habitually and by its disposition does no harm (or has not
been guilty of a particular offence), and connotes a harmless character
(or freedom from particular guilt); 'edible' denotes whatever can be
eaten with good results, and connotes its suitability for mastication,
deglutition, digestion, and assimilation.

Sec. 2. But whether all terms must connote as well as denote something, has
been much debated. Proper names, according to what seems the better
opinion, are, in their ordinary use, not connotative. To say that they
have no meaning may seem violent: if any one is called John Doe, this
name, no doubt, means a great deal to his friends and neighbours,
reminding them of his stature and physiognomy, his air and gait, his