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Although we tend to think of words as having fixed and unchanging definitions, the way people use language is always evolving. Definitions can change due to social changes, new technology, current events, and many other reasons.
I think it’s really cool to learn about how words have changed in the past (like, did you know that? “Nice – good” It comes from the Latin word meaning “ignorant”?), and it is fascinating to stop and think about how we are witnessing the evolution of language before our eyes. newly, u/chicken_spanker he asked Seniors took to Reddit to share the words that changed their definitions in their lives, and they had a lot to say. Here are some of the most important comments:
1.
“In sports, the GOAT was a player who made a mistake so big that it handed the game over to opponents. Now, it’s used as shorthand for ‘greatest of all time.'”
2.
“The thing that turns me on is ‘crude teasing.’ I had 20 people tell me they were harassing me on a flight and I was like, ‘Excuse me, what did you do on your flight?’”
3.
‘When I was a teenager in the Pleistocene, if you were ‘straight’ it meant you didn’t smoke or drink etc. And I didn’t get invited to some fun parties because my classmates thought I was ‘straight.’ Now it means “not part of the LGBTQIA community.” “I’m still straight, but the cool LGBTQ people invite me anyway because they’re cool that way.”
4.
“The thing I still have to mentally correct every time is ‘thongs.’ When I was a kid, that was the word for ‘flip flop.’ When I was 56, I still sometimes forget and refer to my shoes as that; Which causes smirks if you say something along the lines of “I was just with my thong on, and it was really muddy.”
5.
“‘Networking’ used to mean meeting with someone, for example, ‘I have to work late, so I can’t go to dinner, but I’ll connect with you guys at the show.'”
6.
“It’s been around for a long time, but I still can’t get used to the word ‘disease’ as a positive thing.”
7.
“Blue-haired ladies” is used to refer to women with gray hair who rinse their hair. These days, it is seen as indicative of a liberal viewpoint.”
8.
When I heard that Taylor Swift just dropped a song from her upcoming album, the first thing that came to my mind was, “What’s wrong with that?”
10.
“The pound sign is now called a hashtag. What do they use the pound for?”
11.
“Changing the word ‘grovel’ from a verb to an adjective took some getting used to.”
13.
“Preppy. To me, the original term refers to the style of prep school, jocks or private school kids, Preppy Guideetc. There are some girls in my building who are maybe 10 or 11 years old, and they use it to refer to pastel colors. Every time my little dogs wear their pink or light blue winter coats in the elevator, they keep talking about how prepared she is.”
14.
“Checking the fit doesn’t mean looking to see how a particular piece of clothing fits your body, but how the entire outfit looks.”
15.
“Saying something was ‘bad’ was too vulgar to be used casually – now the word ‘bad’ is commonly used in almost all media etc., and the fangs of vulgarity have been removed, so to speak.”
16.
“Although a lot of people over 40 say it, ‘smashing’ used to mean breaking something into pieces. Now it’s used for sex or eating.”
17.
“The word that fascinates me the most is ‘hood.’ Its journey in definitions is really amazing, from a piece of hood to hitting someone in the face, shooting someone, or lying to someone.”
18.
“Crash. This used to mean that the person was exhausted or perhaps drunk and fell into a deep sleep for an extended period of time. Now, it has become more indicative of ‘going postal’, creating a huge mess that leads to imprisonment. – He made me caress Also doing a double take worthy of Parker Lewis.
19.
“Fuck with.” When I was growing up, “having sex with” someone was harassing or harassing them. “I didn’t mean anything, I was just having sex with him.” It’s quite surprising how many people use “have sex with” to mean “Jimmy?”
20.
“My son uses the word ‘drip’ as a good thing, as in ‘It’s dripping.’ When I was little, you didn’t want to be a drop because it meant boring and uncool (like a drop from a poop, which is as exciting as watching grass grow). But apparently, now that comes from ice, which comes from diamonds, so if you drip, you have sparkle and rez (charisma) but I think even drip might wear off with use, and I haven’t heard him use it lately.
21.
“When I was growing up, the word ‘hack’ meant exactly what it meant: taking an ax to something and hacking it. It wasn’t good. If it was a hacking job, it was of zero quality and zero effectiveness. That meant something had been butchered. Implemented without any understanding, and incredibly cheap, to my surprise, life hacks today mean shortcuts, usually clever ones, on how to make life easier.
22.
And finally, “All of me was a humorous response, and now… well, you know what it means.”
Is there a word whose definitions have completely changed in your life? Tell us what it meant and what it means now in the comments!
