Leaning on the Evolution of Meanings
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Leaning on the Evolution of Meanings
Words and their meanings change as people and society do. Just as we replaced travel by horse with motorized transit, so have we altered words to serve what we want and need from the era we live in. In some cases, those words have even become the opposites of what they used to signify.
At the same time, with the world’s most total speakers (about 1.3 billion, including those who speak it as a second language), English is bound to have disparate preferences. Consensus about whether changes are useful or desirable will vary; contemporary utility will determine a word meaning’s lifespan.
As a meaning transforms over many years, often up to centuries, it may often co-exist with the original definition for a long period before replacing it. The following are words with currently enduring, accepted meanings that time has notably altered. Each word’s approximate century of first use is noted as well.
| Word | Early Meaning | Current Meaning |
| awful (13th) | worthy of awe (awe-full) | extremely bad |
| backlog (17th) | largest log in the hearth | large number of jobs to be done |
| bully (16th) | sweetheart | intimidating, quarrelsome person |
| clue (9th) | ball of yarn | bit of evidence for a solution |
| dapper (15th) | brave | stylish, neat, trim |
| egregious (16th) | distinguished, eminent | flagrantly bad |
| fathom (9th) | to encircle with one’s arms | to understand after much thought |
| flirt (16th) | to flick something away, act briskly | to act amorously without seriousness |
| girl (13th) | young person (either gender) | young female |
| guy (19th) | frightful figure | man, boy, fellow |
| naughty (14th) | having nothing (naught) | disobedient, improper |
| nice (13th) | foolish, simple, ignorant | kind, pleasing, agreeable |
| matrix (14th) | female breeding animal | pattern of lines and spaces |
| prestigious (16th) | involving trickery or illusion | honored |
We may not always be able to predict the future, but we can safely assume that some of the words we use with conviction now will mean something else in generations to come. Until then, we will continue to embrace and apply what our present words provide us for the awe-full power of human writing and speech.
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We can add reticent. Original meaning, silent. New meaning, reluctant.
Addition of reticent is an interesting suggestion; however, it differs from others in the table in that it has not made a complete transition from “silent.” Merriam-Webster shows definition 1 as “inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech.”