Madam, - Betty Maguire (October 25th) relies on the Oxford English Dictionary definition of marriage to reserve its use for heterosexual couples. However, the word counterfeit once meant a legitimate copy. Garble once meant to sort out, not to mix up. A harlot was once a boy, and a girl in Chaucer's day was any young person. One could go on, but I hope the point is made: the meaning of words changes over time. They are tools for our time, not times past. - Yours, etc,
STEPHEN BARRETT,
Abbeyleix,
Co Laois.