Etymology is neither the whole of this view, nor yet to be excluded from it.

I concur not therefore with Dr.Campbell, who, to make out a strong case, extravagantly says, "It is _never from an attention to etymology_, which would frequently mislead us, but from custom, the only infallible guide in this matter, that the meanings of words in present use must be learnt."-- _Philosophy of Rhetoric_, p.188.Jamieson too, with an implicitness little to be commended, takes this passage from Campbell; and, with no other change than that of "_learnt_" to "_learned_" publishes it as a corollary of his own .-- _Grammar of Rhetoric_, p.42.It is folly to state for truth what is so obviously wrong.

Etymology and custom are seldom at odds; and where they are so, the latter can hardly be deemed infallible..