Compare and contrast the reference theory of meaning and the idea of meaning and explain how best each one of them can be used to explain the term coronavirus

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Explanation:

The Idea theory of meaning defined by John Locke explains that an individual's interpretation of a word, is dependent on the idea the word suggests to him or her. The Reference theory of meaning defined by John Stuart Mill explains that the interpretation of any word or phrase is dependent on the separate meanings of each of the words used. Applying these to the term coronavirus,

1. The idea theory of meaning to me is that Coronavirus suggests a disease. This interpretation is subjective as others may have a different idea of the word.

2. The reference theory of meaning would be derived by picking out the individual words and relating them. Thus, Corona means crown and Virus means microorganism. So i can infer that coronavirus means a crown-like microorganism.