I heard this question asked in a commercial last evening, and I thought immediately “But ambiguous DOES have more than meaning–in fact, it means two distinct concepts!”
It’s usually pejorative, meaning something like ‘vague’ or ‘nebulous’ in everyday language. It can even mean something like “tricky’ or 'shifty” as in “You’re being ambiguous–say what you mean, please.” But it’s a word of praise when the intent is artful: in poetry, ‘ambiguity’ is often the very point the poet is shooting for, having a shade of meaning that seems to cut one way but which can also be read to shade quite differently. Some poets (Robert Frost leaps straight to mind) seem to want an unresolveable ambiguity in all their work, and telling Frost that his poems are ambiguous would have bought a satisfied smile to his face.
Anyone know what commercial I saw, btw? I didn’t catch that.
II. Transf. A. Uncertain, doubtful B. Of discourse: obscure, dark, ambiguous C. Trop. , uncertain, wavering; not to be relied on, untrustworthy.
Basically, there is one literal meaning (moving from side to side), but that can be figuratively interpreted in several ways. Anyway, ambiguity is not inherently good or bad, it obviously depends on the context.
Well other than the word does have more than one meaning, why would one suppose a word should describe itself? Why isn’t the word “red” red? That’s about how sensical the rhetorical is.
The OED lists even more senses for ambiguous—seven, to be precise, of which only one is marked as obsolete:
Doubtful, questionable; indistinct, obscure, not clearly defined.
Of words or other significant indications: Admitting more than one interpretation, or explanation; of double meaning, or of several possible meanings; equivocal. (The commonest use.)
Of doubtful position or classification, as partaking of two characters or being on the boundary line between.
Of persons: Wavering or uncertain as to course or conduct; hesitating, doubtful. Obs.
Of things: Wavering or uncertain in direction or tendency; of doubtful or uncertain issue.
Hence, Insecure in its indications; not to be relied upon.
Of persons, oracles, etc.: Using words of doubtful or double meaning.
I’m not sure that’s so much “two distinct concepts” as “a single concept that can be positive or negative depending on the context,” though. (Or, possibly, depending on the audience – some people hate ambiguity, and others prefer it. As a humanities professor, I’d say that “tolerance of ambiguity and complexity” is one of the qualities most of us try to instill in our students, with varying degrees of success.)