XXXVIII. But he employs a great variety of terms in order to render his philosophical system unintelligible to the ignorant. In his phraseology he considers wisdom as the knowledge of things which can be understood by the intellect, and which have a real existence: which has the Gods for its object, and the soul as unconnected with the body. [...] He also uses the same words in different senses at different times. Accordingly he uses φαῦλος in the sense of ἁπλοῦς, _simple_, [...] But Plato uses the word sometimes even for what is beautiful; and sometimes for small and insignificant; and very often he uses different words to express the same idea. Accordingly, besides the word ἰδέα for a class, he uses also εἶδος, and γένος, and παράδειγμα, and ἀρχὴ, and αἴτιον. Sometimes he uses opposite expressions for the same thing; accordingly, he says that it is an object of sensation that exists, while at other times he says it is that which does not exist; speaking of it as existing because of its origin, and as non-existent with reference to its continual changes. — Diogenes Laertius, *Lives of Eminent Philosophers*, Book III, Section XXXVIII, trans. C. D. Yonge (1853). **Surface Gloss:** Plato intentionally varies his vocabulary—using one word for many meanings, many words for one concept, and even contradictory predicates for the same object—so that uninitiated, literal-minded readers cannot extract his system mechanically. **Anti-Jargon Concept Rotation:** When teaching a high-value method, deliberately rotate five or six everyday terms for your core concept instead of coining a single rigid buzzword. Hackers, imitators, and shallow readers latch onto proprietary buzzwords to mimic expertise; rotating the vocabulary forces genuine students to track the underlying structural invariant.
— In our words · Source: Lives of Eminent Philosophers (Diogenes Laertius)