Etymology is the study of the origins of words.
As languages develop, the meaning of words can change over time. This causes confusion and misunderstandings when communicating with other people.
In a world where you make a living from communication, advertising or marketing, it is not only important to be clear in your message, it is also important to think about your target market and understand how they understand words and messages.
On the positive side that words change meaning over time, languages that stay alive have been observed to adapt and grow over time.
An example would be the word nice. Nice used to be an insult and meant silly or stupid in the 13th century and went through a lot of changes until the 18th century with meanings like wild, flamboyant, elegant, strange, modest, slim, and shy or shy. Now it means good and nice or considerate and kind.
Fool meant blessed or happy in the 11th century and went through a godly, innocent, harmless, pitiful, and weak mindset before ending up as foolish or stupid.
Pretty started out crafty, this changed to cleverly or cleverly done, then fine, and ended up beautiful.
Some other changes are:
Word ______ Original meaning
Horrible________ Deserved awe
Pearl _________ Prayer
Brave_________ Cowardice (as in bravado)
Girl __________ Young of either sex
Neck_________ Parcel of land (as in neck of the forest)
Discomfort______ Injury, damage
Sophisticated___Corrupt
There are several reasons why words change their meaning. One is the influence of other languages and cultures. Throughout history, many nations, by conquering or mixing with one another, brought their own languages into the mix. Another reason is the predominant use of jargon. We get so used to using them that we often forget that we even are.
So when it comes to defining words, there is the standard dictionary, which by the way can show multiple meanings for a word, and there is the definition of the word in slang.
Also, slang words spread faster and are used more frequently than before, making them commonplace in many societies.
Due to the advancement of science and technology, new words are also being created at an astonishing rate. Keeping up with some of the new words and their use will help you in your efforts to understand and become an expert communicator.
Once every ten years, the Merriam-Webster dictionary is updated. Its eleventh edition for 2003 included some 10,000 new words along with 100,000 new meanings of existing words and some 225,000 revised definitions.
Some of the slang words that have appeared in the dictionary are;
Headbanger: a hard rock musician and a fan
Dead Presidents- Paper Money
Prairie Gophering – People who look over their cubicles at work.
McJob- Low-wage, dead-end job.
Combing over an attempt to cover a bald area
You can learn more words in an etymological dictionary.
We can use this as another reminder, especially when it is important to achieve a group goal, that what one word means to us may not have the same meaning to someone else.
There is also the emotional reactions that different people have for certain words. But that is another story …
