The ideas in your introduction regarding synonymy are precious; would that our linguistic purists were imbued with them!

On the very threshold of the matter I am bound to affirm my conviction that the spiritual purists of all agesthe Jews, the iconoclasts of Byzantium, Savonarola, and our Puritan ancestorswere justified in their mistrust of plastic art.

The technical purists used especially to despise the French windowa harmless, agreeable and very common device.