Words. Definitions. Understanding.
Senator Schumer's use of the word "perfidy" in his remarks after the Senate voted not to hear witnesses was something I called out in another thread here today. Some people objected to my praise for his use of a very specific word to describe that action by the Senate.
Over 50 years ago, one my my high school teachers said something in class that stuck with me. She said, "Knowledge of any subject is largely a matter of learning the extended meanings of words unique to that subject."
I understood what she meant, but it became clearer as I advanced in my education. When I was studying high school physics, for example, truly learning what the word "inertia" meant was a key to understanding Newton's Laws. That's because truly understanding the word intertia required that I understand Newton's laws. Without that understanding, I wouldn't truly know what "inertia" meant. In the process, I had to learn what mass and force also meant, in terms of physics. Vocabulary.
The same thing was true in every class I took and every discipline I needed to learn. Everything has its own vocabulary. If you truly understand the words, you understand the subject.
For example, if someone says that the medication they are taking is a "benzodiazepine," understanding what that word means tells you a great deal about the reason they are taking that medication. It also means that you know the names of typical benzodiazepine medications and how they are similar and different. You also know how that class of drugs operates in the brain. If you don't know those things, you don't really understand the word. You might use the word, but not understand it, really. Pharmacists understand the word, as do others who take the time to learn the details of what it means.
So, when Schumer used the word "perfidy," he demonstrated that it was a word in his active vocabulary, and one he understands. If you asked him what it meant, he could probably talk to you at length about that. He would probably mention the phrase "Perfidious Albion," and tell you how England got that nickname by behaving perfidiously toward other nations, including the colonies in America. He might mention the Trojan Horse as an example of "perfidy." He used that word, because it neatly and concisely described what the Senate did. He knows that word, because he is an excellent student of history.
People use the words they know and understand. People with large vocabularies in many different areas are predictably intelligent people who value thorough knowledge of subjects. They use words because they know their meanings in depth and because they value precision in communication.
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