Not to get into a whole discussion on this, but the origin of an  
important term is a perfectly appropriate object of inquiry in the  
history of ideas.  That doesn't mean its importance should be  
overstated, but we can think of many examples of valuable work on the  
origins of terminology that certainly do not confuse the difference  
between a term and the ideas it represents.  Tony Aspromourgos wrote a  
very good article on the origins of the term "neoclassical," no doubt  
following in the footsteps of his teacher (and 2005 HES distinguished  
Fellow) Peter Groenewegen, who wrote an excellent note on the origin of  
the phrase "supply and demand." Of course, the ideas these terms are  
intended to represent preceded the terminology itself, one is almost  
tempted to ask how it could be otherwise (the exception being the  
simultaneous development of the term and the idea?). The point here is  
simply that, in the history of thought, there is both an intrinsic  
interest in the origins of a term and possibilities that inquiry into a  
term's origins might shed light on other important and interesting  
issues in the development of ideas.  
  
Mathew Forstater