Terms with unexpected meanings, part 4

Here are some more unexpected or unusual word definitions out of the 1971 Webster's Third New International Dictionary:

* "Situation ethics" = introduced to the dictionary as a new English word in 1971 and defined as "a system of ethics which is based on love and by which acts are judged within their contexts instead of by categorical principles." I typically hear this term used negatively in the sense of moral relativism, but it was originally meant to be a formulation of ethics based on the New Testament commandments to love God and our neighbor.

* "patterning" = "a technique designed to improve damaged neural controls by means of feedback from forced muscular activity imposed in physical therapy." If this was something done in 1971, was it stopped? I know of two young men with brain injuries who could really benefit from less-known techniques to improved damaged neural controls.

* "paralanguage" = "optional vocal effects (as tone of voice) that accompany or modify the phonemes of an utterance and may communicate meaning." What are these optional vocal effects, and can they be produced and manipulated with today's computers in order to add artificial enhancements conveying sincerity or alarm? Do cable news networks, inspirational speakers, and radio programs use them?

* "pemoline" = "a synthetic organic drug that is usually mixed with magnesium hydroxide, is a mild stimulant of the central nervous system, and is used experimentally to improve memory." The definitions I saw on the internet just now said nothing about memory improvement, just that pemoline is no longer used due to "a link" to liver failure; correlation isn't causation, so this brief mention of a link doesn't seem enough reason to completely drop a medication. Given the number of people we have in the world now dealing with dementia, I'd expect to see a little more attention given to a memory enhancer.

* "phytochrome" = "a chromoprotein present in traces in many plants that when activated by red to far-red radiation plays a role in initiating floral and developmental processes." As noted in a previous blog post (https://petticoatgovernment.blogspot.com/2023/01/terms-with-unexpected-meanings-part-2.html), "far-red" has contradictory definitions, so "phytochrome" is also going to have different definitions depending on which definition of "far-red" is used.

* "poor-mouth" = (intransitive verb) "to plead poverty as a defense or excuse"; (transitive verb) "to speak disparagingly of." I never heard the first definition before. I think poverty is a perfectly valid defense or excuse in many situations, so I am surprised this term doesn't get used more often.

* "programming" = "the process of instructing or learning by means of an instructional program." Or learning? Who uses the word programming so broadly? Instructing and learning are almost considered antonyms.

* "muti" = "[Zulu umu ti tree, shrub, herb, medicine] Africa: MEDICINE." As a German speaker, this  looks like "mommy" ("Mutti") to me. Since the Zulus lived in areas where Afrikaans, a language similar to German is spoken now, I don't think this is an unfair connection to make. But mommies, great as they are, aren't medicine. They're much better. :)

* "pherentasin" = "a pressor amine present in the blood in severe hypertension." I've never heard of this before, and there seems to be almost no research on it, which is odd considering the number of people on medication for hypertension.

* "mutica" = from Latin, neuter plural of muticus docked "syn[onym] of CETACEA." Why would a Latin word for "being cut off" be a synonym for whales and related aquatic mammals?