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This question is similar, but I'm looking for something subtly different.

Suppose you have a philosophy describing a way of thinking and acting. Acting on this philosophy requires work: your mind will slip out of engaging it in if you don't keep up a practice of keeping to it. Over time, you also get better at understanding this philosophy and at keeping to it.

I'm inclined to say one "hones to" the philosophy. I realize this is a slight abuse of the meaning of "hone" and conflates it with "home in". I also have no interest here in whether to say "home in" or "hone in" in the usual context, because I want to say something different from what is meant by "home in".

I'm trying to express these ideas simultaneously with "hone to" or "hone toward":

  • you get close to acting based on the philosophy (you are "homing in" on what it describes)
  • you need to "hone your skill" at following the philosophy
  • you are trying to keep close to what the philosophy describes rather than drifting

Is there some already existing word or expression which captures this idea? I have thus far not found anything.

Alternatives I considered include "follow", which I dislike because it sounds passive, and "track to", using the meaning of track here as it is used in sailing terminology (c.f. "jibe"). I'd also prefer to stick with Germanic words because I like how they sound in this context, but I'm open to alternatives.

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    To follow, for example buddhism, is not passive, it means to walk in the path of, to act like, to keep close to... That word seems to cover your three examples. I mean there's the term "followers" for any religion, and it covers exaclty that.
    – P. O.
    May 28, 2014 at 16:07
  • @FumbleFingers thanks for linking to that post. i read it but it doesn't quite address my question.
    – Gordon Seidoh Worley
    May 28, 2014 at 17:06
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    One option is the rather old-fashioned word cleave, meaning "to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly." It shows up in the King James version of Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." "
    – Sven Yargs
    May 28, 2014 at 18:10
  • @SvenYargs "cleave" definitely has the sound i'm looking for. i have to think about if it carries the right meaning, although it helps that "cleave" is rarely used with this meaning anymore. thank you!
    – Gordon Seidoh Worley
    May 28, 2014 at 20:43

6 Answers 6

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I like hew, as in "you must hew to the philosophy"; it is Germanic (old English/old high German) as requested, it carries (for me, at least) a sense of action instead of passivity, and with its related "cutting" meanings, also gives a sense of removing things that are not in line, so that you focus only on the desired thing.

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  • i just came back to look at this again and noticed your answer. i like this even better than 'cleave' because it lacks the overtones provided to 'cleave' by its biblic use
    – Gordon Seidoh Worley
    Jul 7, 2014 at 2:33
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I think you used it: Practice. It avoids implying that you have achieved mastery of or oneness with the philosophy (as in "exercise", "employ", "adhere to"), but indicates a certain level of dedication. Its range of usage seems to bookend the level of expertise you are trying to imply.

I think the home/hone track is too brief. It does not imply a long, continuous path or a relationship with the concept.

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Hone in and hone to are not proper phrases, since hone means to sharpen and is transitive. Therefore you can hone (sharpen) a blade or (metaphorically) skills, but you can't hone in or to anything. At this point I opened my dictionary and found that actually, (to my surprise!) my Webster's 10th edition does allow hone in as an intransitive verb, being careful to note that some commentators consider it a mistake arising perhaps from a weakening of the m in home to an n. As for home in, the meaning of proceeding or directing attention toward an objective fits quite well with your disposition toward a philosophy. An alternative phrase might be striving for mastery, combining as it does the ideas of focused attention on something in order to gain proficiency and the sustained striving necessary to make progress toward mastery.

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One option is the rather old-fashioned word cleave, meaning "to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly." It shows up in the King James version of Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

According to Merriam-Webster's, this cleave comes from Middle English clevien and Old English clifian, akin to Old High German kleben (to stick). Today's more common cleave ("to divide by or as if by a sudden blow: split") derives from Middle English cleven and Old English clēofan, akin to Old Norse kljūfa (to split).

If the conflicting meanings of cleave make the term less desirable, you could opt for adhere [to], remain faithful [to], or persevere [in].

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Some possible alternatives to hone/home in in your given context include:

  • to perfect
  • to conform (to)
  • to improve
  • to refine
  • to practice
  • to adhere (to)
  • to observe

Another verb that might fit the context is to approach (e.g., with much contemplation and practice, he approached his philosophical ideals). If you want to emphasize progressively "putting something into effect", the appropriate word might be to realize or to actualize.

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I'd use 'internalize' to refer to the process of practicing at a way of thinking until it becomes part of your mental makeup.

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