[Sniper]

Borrowing a bit more from William O'neil (How to make money in stocks 3rd ed - p96-97)...

Are you a Speculator or an Investor?

There are two often misunderstood words to describe the kind of people who participate in the stock market: speculator and investor.

When you think of the word "speculator", you might think of someone who takes big risks, gambling on the future success of a stock. Conversely, when you think of the word "investor", you might think of someone who approaches the stock market in a sensible and rational manner. According to these conventional definitions, you may think it's smarter to be an "investor".

But Baruch defines "speculator" as follows: "The word speculator comes from the Latin 'speculari', which means to spy and observe. A speculator, therefore, is a person who observes and acts before [the future] occurs." This is precisely what you should be doing; you should watch the market and individual stocks to analyze what they're doing now, and then act upon that information. Jesse Livermore, another stock market legend, defined "investor" this way: "Investors are the big gamblers. They make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes wrong, they lose it all." After reading this far, you should already know that this is not the proper way to invest. There is no such thing as a long-term investment once a stock drops into the loss columns and you're down 8% below your cost.

These definitions are a bit different from those you'll read in Webster's Dictionary, but they are far more accurate. Keep in mind that Baruch and Livermore at many times made millions of dollars in the stock market. I'm not sure about lexicographers.