As Lewis Black correctly pointed out in his stand up routine, sometimes we take everything for granted, when applying a little logic would explain the mistakes. There is no such a thing as soy milk, because there are no tits on the soy bean. Quite simple. Correctly it is soy juice, but that word makes people gag. Even Wikipedia first call it milk, but when it starts to explain the origins, it switches to juice. Speaking of soy tits, the white liquid from the coconut isn't milk either...For a liquid to be milk, it has to come from a mammal's mammary glands. But that is just my silly definition... P.S.: " In many countries, this product may not be sold under the name milk since it is not a dairy product, hence the name soy drink." -- Wikipedia
It does resemble milk, it is used for the same purposes, and it is high in protein. There is an old precedent for this. In the Middle Ages, people didn't have refrigeration, so only those close to a cow could get it. They used crushed almonds. http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec31.htm http://www.soya.be/soy-milk-maker.php
One of the things Lewis Black would surely point out that we should not "take for granted" is that jokes are literally true. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Your last 2 definitions used the SAME word (milk) in the definition than the word they are trying to define! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! That is a big logical no-no.... P.S.: It isn't even clear what word did you look up...
Sorry, for concision I did not paste the entire definition. A numeral other than 1. in front of each line indicates that it was not the primary definition. "Fluid secreted by mammary glands" or words to that effect are the primary definition of "milk" in all sources. In the compilation of a dictionary (again for concision) it is indeed fair for secondary definitions to refer back to the primary, rather than repeating it and adding length, e.g. "A fluid closely resembling the fluid secreted by mammary glands..." "Milk."
Shrug It depends on how literally you want to take definitions. Any department store will sell you "crystal glass," even though those two terms are technically contradictory.
Wikipedia, my common sense dictionary gives: Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). So let's stick to soy juice...
Not to belabor a point, but in nuclear medicine we "milk" a Molybdenum "cow". That is, we extract radioactive Technetium-99m from radioactive Molybdenum-99 by washing a solution through the Moly which dissolves the Tech into it, and which is drained out. This is done on a daily basis in several score locations all over the world.
No. Soy milk is used as a milk substitute by lactose intolerant people and non-dairy vegetarians. It is, often, used like cow or goat milk. We don't usually put juice in our coffee and while I know a few guys who put juice in their cereal, I don't think we should build our definitions of words from their practices. Since is says SOY in soy milk, no one is getting fooled that this came from a female mammal. Also the root meaning of the word is 'to stroke' which included the milking process. There is probably some kind of stroking somewhere in the production of soy milk, and often now there is no stroking in the creation of milk products, this being done by machines, hence it is a misnomer now for most milk unless you head out in the countryside or the third world. That the root has to do with stroking should bolster the claims of the man who keeps bringing up sperm.
Nicotine patch is used for substituting for smoking, but we don't call it cigarette. Also, as you mentioned juice is used for cereals, and although you feel it wrong, it is an argument for soy juice.... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
yeah, well, a nicotene patch is nothing like a cigarette. You don't smoke it, you place it on your skin. It is not a white cylinder, it's a.....And so on. The texture, shape, often the color, intentions and most of the EXPERIENCE OF THE USER is completely different. I never said it was wrong. I indicated that it was not common practice. It would be misleading to refer to soy milk as soy juice. Sure it is, just like cow's milk, drunk from a glass, but it is also, often, used in cooking as a substitute for cow's milk, on cereal, in coffee and tea and so on. Also, the truth is, you lose. It is called soy milk and use wins in language. But you could move to one of the places where it must be called something else if it is very important to you. You do know that much of our language is illogical. That's because we are creative and the words are for us. We are not for the language. It is absolutely useful and clear to call soy milk, soy milk. So it will probably continue to be used as its name. Shall we stop calling cow's milk, milk because most milk is now milked by machines and not stroked by hand?
Wikipedia is right most of the time--and I often cite it myself--but even when it's right it's often incomplete or imprecise. In this case it's incomplete. The sources I cited are respected dictionaries that are allowable as references in academic writing. Wikipedia is not. The secondary meaning of "milk," as a liquid that is similar to true milk in appearance, usage, nutritional or therapeutic properties, is a proper and legitimate use of the word in American English. SciForums is a place of science and scholarship. This definition is appropriate here. "Soy milk" and "coconut milk" are legitimate terms.
Technically it is not MILK. BUT 'Soy Milk' is more marketable.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You got this one backward. The word milk was first and the meaning milking as stroking second... Legitimate term sure. They are just not logical, that's what this thread about. By the way Fraggle, what's your take on my prem. ej. thread? I should have posted under linguistic, because it is more of a semantic issue than a biological... Anf John99 is exactly right, it is about marketig. As Lewis Black said, the notion of "soy juice" makes you gag... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
A note about soy milk. It's OK. I used to think it tasted rather crap... but after a while of drinking it I kind of like it.
You may be right. I went by this I've read it a couple of times and find it hard to say whether the substance got its name from the action or the reverse. As far as it being legitimate rather than logical: 1) language is illogical all over the place. To focus on soy milk makes me wonder if there is other motivation. Hence I will push legitimacy arguments. 2) If you look in Wikipedia it is referred to as Soy Milk, Soy Juice, Soy Beverage/drink. If we are thinking of logical, we want our words to reflect the use in the specific culture. To call it soy juice is misleading. To call it soy milk is informative. We use this in the ways cow milk is used. Also juice would tend to call to mind flavors and textures that would make that first sip very unpleasant, even for those who would like the taste - given an appropriate and logical name. Small containers, especially flavored ones, could certainly be called soy drinks, probably some are. here's my zinger: JUICE It seems like we've been using juice 'incorrectly' and we certainly wouldn't want to repeat this crime with Soy Milk.
