words used today that didn't mean that years ago

[Chiliagon]

ok so I know there are some people out there today that use the word "Sick"

and it to them means "cool" or "awesome"

I have never been able to understand why Sick could possibly mean that??

I always think that the word Sick means what it means, SICK!!

I don't know why people seem to think that words need to be reinvented?


anyways, do you have any other words that are used today for a purpose other than what it really means??

 

[JLM]

ok so I know there are some people out there today that use the word "Sick"

and it to them means "cool" or "awesome"

I have never been able to understand why Sick could possibly mean that??

I always think that the word Sick means what it means, SICK!!

I don't know why people seem to think that words need to be reinvented?


anyways, do you have any other words that are used today for a purpose other than what it really means??

Another one is f**k, when I was a kid it had one meaning and it was a verb. Now it's, noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. It has thousands of meanings, actually it's become sort of a "wildcard", if you can't think of the right word, just insert "f**k" and people will understand what you are talking about. It has to be the most versatile word in the English language and yet for its exalted status we are still not supposed to write the word out in full. :lol::lol::lol:

 

[petros]

You can't do the verb in public either.

 

[TenPenny]

'sick' was originally used as a sarcastic term for something cool or good, typical of using a word to mean the opposite.


'gay' is certainly one word that has changed meaning over time.

 

[Chiliagon]

but you can sure fantasize about it!

'sick' was originally used as a sarcastic term for something cool or good, typical of using a word to mean the opposite.


'gay' is certainly one word that has changed meaning over time.

I think iMO people use use the word Gay to describe their disgust for something, should be ashamed.

that's just wrong and you need to learn to have respect.

 

[TenPenny]

gay used to mean happy/bright/cheerful.

'He's feeling quite gay this morning' for example.

 

[Chiliagon]

yup, back in the 30's and 40's.

heck they called 1900 the gay 90's right?

can't do that now.

I think 99% of people today associate Gay with homosexuality

 

[JLM]

I would beg to differ. Do minorities have the right to take an old established word and change the meaning almost to the point of depriving the majority of its use in the traditional sense? :smile:

gay used to mean happy/bright/cheerful.

'He's feeling quite gay this morning' for example.

Anyone over 40 is well aware of the conventional meaning.

 

[petros]

Just imagine the mayhem if people started using today's English to interpret theosophical texts.

 

[Chiliagon]

I just wish people wouldn't start reinventing words for their own coolness.

like imagine if Sex was no longer sex?

or shower was no longer shower?

hamburger is no longer Hamburger?

YIKES!

 

[petros]

I just wish people wouldn't start reinventing words for their own coolness.

like imagine if Sex was no longer sex?

or shower was no longer shower?

hamburger is no longer Hamburger?

YIKES!

a sexy car....

a shower of money...

a German....

 

[talloola]

friends of ours named their daughter 'gay', many years ago, I thought it was a pretty name, and
such a happy name, a few years later that word was hijacked, but she still had to live her life
with the name.

 

[petros]

friends of ours named their daughter 'gay', many years ago, I thought it was a pretty name, and
such a happy name, a few years later that word was hijacked, but she still had to live her life
with the name.

There was a kid across the street named Damien...

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Hey, usage evolves, meanings change, words go in and out of fashion, get used to it. Awful originally meant full of awe, dreadful used to mean full of dread, now they mean more or less the same thing: very bad. Chaucer and Shakespeare and the King James Bible are often difficult to understand because of evolution in meanings and usage, though they're all English. Nothing anyone can do about it. The invention of the printing press slowed things down a bit, the differences between Chaucer and Shakespeare, who are about 200 years apart, are vastly greater than the differences between Shakespeare and modern English, which are 400 years apart, but the process will never stop.

 

[Chiliagon]

a sexy car....

a shower of money...

a German....

ya but the meaning for Sexy and Shower still are..

sexy means nice looking, hot sexual atmosphere desire,

shower means an on pour of water or rain or something.

like I mean Shower would mean "collaborating"

sex would mean "crazy"

Hamburger would mean "stupid"

 

[shadowshiv]

ok so I know there are some people out there today that use the word "Sick"

and it to them means "cool" or "awesome"

I have never been able to understand why Sick could possibly mean that??

I always think that the word Sick means what it means, SICK!!

I don't know why people seem to think that words need to be reinvented?


anyways, do you have any other words that are used today for a purpose other than what it really means??

Another word for "cool" that people tend to use is "dope". As in "Did you see that concert last night? It was dope!"

'Sick' and 'dope' being used in those contexts sounds pretty stupid to be honest.

 

[Goober]

ok so I know there are some people out there today that use the word "Sick"

and it to them means "cool" or "awesome"

I have never been able to understand why Sick could possibly mean that??

I always think that the word Sick means what it means, SICK!!

I don't know why people seem to think that words need to be reinvented?


anyways, do you have any other words that are used today for a purpose other than what it really means??

Well do not use the term Wench in a tavern or restaurant.

Well do not use the term Wench in a tavern or restaurant.

Ops - A tad backwars today - I read the post then reread it again.

Gay - used to mean happy. Not now - it is now sexuall preference.

 

[Bar Sinister]

If I remember correctly the word gay as used to describe a homosexual originated in the later 19th century in reference to male actors playing female roles. They were referred to as "les gais" and the name was passed on to homosexual activity.

As for a word that has completely changed its meaning there are thousands of them. One such word is chauffeur which originally referred to someone who shoveled coal into a furnace as in a steam train. When automobiles were invented the word was transferred to those who drove cars.

 

[TenPenny]

How about 'dumb', which is used as a synonym for 'stupid' these days.

 

[karrie]

language evolves. It always has. And, consider the fact that your language is only one of many. The words you get irritated over don't even mean ANYthing to someone who doesn't share your language