以下是从Bill O'Neil的书里抄来的：


Are You a Speculator or an Investor?


There are two often-misunderstood words that are used to describe the kinds 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.

Baruch, however, defined 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: watching the market and individual stocks to determine what they’re doing now, and then acting on 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 this is not the proper way to invest. There’s no such thing as a long-term investment once a stock drops into the loss column 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.