Level of Familiarity: I have definitely heard the word before, probably when I was dealing with student loans in graduate school. What it meant didn't seem to matter back then. Now, however, I feel it is more important to understand what it means in order conceptualize what it is that Salt does.
What it Means: Dictionary.com defines guarantor as "one that guarantees." This is not helpful. I know the word "guarantee" but I don't understand what this means in relationship to student loans. I realized that I needed to look elsewhere. I Googled "guarantor of student loans" and came across this definition on Wikipedia: "a person or agency that agrees to pay someone else's debt should he or she default on a loan."
Reflective Commentary: I now understand a guarantor to be essentially a debt management entity, a concept that I am familiar with. I don't see myself using this word very often since I don't have many conversations about loans or debt in my daily life. Eventually, though, I am sure I will need to walk this road as a parent.
I really enjoy using uncommon words and adapting words from one context into another. I do wonder if I might use this word in another context though in a more metaphorical way. For example, whether I could say that I've been a "guarantor" of something after helping to clean up somebody's mess after they have made a mistake?
No comments:
Post a Comment