IEHB: Thank you for the conversation. You misunderstood. This has nothing to do with the OED. That was a sidepoint. And really it is meaningless what the etymology of Orthodox means. It was probably applied to us by the non-Orthodox as an offshoot of the Orthodox Christian use of the term. But the historically non-disputed fact is that Orthodox was applied to us by the non-Orthodox.
From Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, Religion Allied to Progress, in JMW. p. 198:
“It was not the ‘Orthodox’ Jews who introduced the word ‘orthodoxy’ into Jewish discussion. It was the modern ‘progressive’ Jews who first applied this name to ‘old’, ‘backward’ Jews as a derogatory term. This name was at first resented by ‘old’ Jews. And rightly so. ‘Orthodox’ Judaism does not know any varieties of Judaism. It conceives Judaism as one and indivisible. It does not know a Mosaic, prophetic and rabbinic Judaism, nor Orthodox and Liberal Judaism. It only knows Judaism and non-Judaism. It does not know Orthodox and Liberal Jews. It does indeed know conscientious and indifferent Jews, good Jews, bad Jews or baptised Jews; all, nevertheless, Jews with a mission which they cannot cast off. They are only distinguished accordingly as they fulfil or reject their mission.”
Yes, nowadays you’ll find Orthodox and Chareidi Jews describing themselves with these silly and counterproductive terms. But it was not Orthodox or Chareidi Jews who gave themselves these terms. The term Chareidi may have not been intended derogatorily (who knows what their intent was) but probably they just applied the term from the Eidah Chareidus to the virtually the entire Orthodox world other than MO and RZ.
Regardless of any apologetics, the way Dr. Rabbi Lamm used the term cavemen in conjunction with Bnei Torah was malevolent despite a sophisticated explanation of how he “really” meant it all innocuously. He well knew beforehand that making the comparison in one speaking would give the impression it gave.
YU is more than a Beis Medrash. (In fact only RIETS is a B”M.) It is also a secular college. BMG is not.
Avi Weiss was long known as a left-wing liberal radical, long before the 90s and early 2000s when he was still teaching at YU. He only left YU because he started his own competing YCT. He didn’t suddenly get all radical in the week he quit YU and started YCT. And why is the RCA still allowing him to be a rabbinic member?