Refers to the manner in which language (specifically) is used. Ludwig Wittgenstein in his late works shares the statement “In most cases, the meaning of a word is its use”. Only (or mainly) by learning how words and expressions are used, can we know what they actually mean.
The meaning needn’t be searched for in a particular situation or usage, nor in some transcendental kingdom (like Plato‘s Ideas); rather one should look for the meaning in the established usage in spoken language. Wittgenstein didn’t believe that this is a theory, he was, in fact, prejudiced to such theories. They are, according to him part of the problem. The solution, on the other hand, was to turn to common usage. A similar approach is really akin to the linguistic turn in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy.
