'although' meaning 'but'

Question

Most dictionaries I know of say that 'although' has two related but different usages.
For example, Oxford Living Dictionaries define it as follows:

1 In spite of the fact that; even though.
‘although the sun was shining it wasn't that warm’
‘although small, the room has a spacious feel’
1.1 However; but.
‘he says he has the team shirt, although I've never seen him wear it’

Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary defines it as follows:

1 : despite the fact that : though — used to introduce a fact that makes another fact unusual or surprising

Although [=while, even though] he was hungry, he could not eat.

...
2 : but, however, though — used when making a statement that differs from or contrasts with a statement you have just made

I don't believe we've met before, although I must say you do look very familiar.

I think his name is John, although I'm not completely sure about that.

I'd love to have dinner with you, although I can't.

The book had a good, although not great, plot.

Both these dictionaries say 'although' has a second meaning equivalent to 'however' or 'but', as opposed to the first meaning of 'despite the fact that' or 'in spite of the fact that'.
Now, the Oxford dictionary shows that the second meaning is subsumed under the first meaning by numbering it "1.1". Even so, I don't understand why this second meaning has to be added in the first place when you certainly can fully understand its meaning simply by the first meaning of 'in spite of the fact that'.
I don't believe that in its second meaning 'although' is syntactically either a coordinate conjunction such as 'but' or a connective adverb such as 'however'. So I think the use of 'but' or 'however' in the second meaning is purely semantic, and that the although-clause is a subordinate clause whether it's used in the first or second meaning.
Furthermore, is there any reason why all these examples of the second meaning have a comma right before 'although'? Would leaving out the comma change the structure and/or meaning of these examples even slightly?

Jason Bassford · Answer

I do not see the second sense being the same as the first.

First sense:

Although the sun was shining it wasn't that warm.

I take this to be the equivalent to:

The sun was shining. Yet, contrary to what you might assume from that, it wasn't that warm.

In other words, although is being used to point out a conclusion that is contrary to the evidence.

Second sense:

He says he has the team shirt, although I've never seen him wear it.

I take this to the the equivalent to:

He says he has the team shirt. Oh, and I've never seen him wear it.

Here, although is not being used to state a conclusion that is seemingly in contradiction to evidence. It's being used to state something additional and related, but nonessential.

Which, by the way, is the reason for the comma: what follows it is a nonrestrictive relative clause. The essential meaning of the sentence would not be changed if the comma and everything after it were removed (the resulting sentence would still be grammatical).

In the first example, the sun is warm; therefore, it's natural to assume that it is warm because the sun is out. But that's not actually true. So, although is being used to point out an exception.

In the second example, no conclusion is being drawn from the fact that somebody has a team shirt. Just because somebody owns a piece of clothing (or is storing it somewhere) that doesn't mean that they should necessarily wear it. I own several pieces of clothing that I haven't worn in years. Although is not being used to point out an exception at all; it's being used to simply mention a related, but optional, second fact.

To specifically demonstrate the syntactical use of the comma in all of the example sentences of the second sense, here they are without the nonessential information:

He says he has the team shirt.
  I don't believe we've met before.
  I think his name is John.
  I'd love to have dinner with you.
  The book had a good plot.

Note that in the last example sentence, the nonessential information is parenthetical, so the last word remains.

Last, note the syntax in the first sense where although is used as the first word in the sentence. In the second sense, it always comes in the middle of the sentence. It's this syntactical structure that determines its meaning.

First sense (contrary to an assumption):

Although the sun was shining it wasn't that warm.

Second sense (nonrestrictive relative clause):

It wasn't that warm, although the sun was shining.

'although' meaning 'but'

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