I mean, if you look in dictionaries, you’ll see both definitions, but as I said to another user in this thread, dictionaries include a definition because it is common, not because it is accurate. Just look up the term “literal”; most common dictionaries define it as meaning either “literal” or “figurative”.
Words exist fundamentally to communicate something; if a term is defined so as to be ambiguous, it has failed in that purpose.
It’s only been expanded in common dictionaries because the dictionaries practice descriptivism, i.e. they reflect not what is the best definition, but how it’s most often used.
In other words, just because it’s in the dictionary doesn’t mean the word means that in a technical context; it just means that’s how it’s commonly meant when used in everyday parlance.
My favorite one of these shows up in 3D printing. The most popular open source 3D print server gives you a head’s up if your printer’s firmware lacks “Thermal Runaway Protection”. If you click the learn more link, it patiently explains, “There aren’t preventative measures to stop your printer from accidentally catching itself on fire”.
(It’s fine, you usually just need to install a decent MOSFET in the cheaper printers.)
My dad used to refer to something he called “Scottish engineering”, which meant you start a project with good intentions but just end up swearing frequently and throwing everything in the fire lol
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