Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. – Rita Mae Brown
Words change meaning over time, no matter which language they belong to. Sometimes you may notice words changing its meaning under your nose. People sometimes may tell that you are misusing a word, especially if you are not a native speaker. If you ever go back to history, you may land to a time where ‘nice’ used to mean ‘silly’ and ‘silly’ used to mean ‘blessed’! Well, that’s the charm of the language and its evolution.
Let us get to know some of these words which used to mean completely different in past centuries.
Pretty
You must be well acquainted with this word. However, in old English ‘pretty’ meant cunning. Later it acquired some positive implications, like clever, skillful, and so on. Far ahead, the word was used to describe something that has been elegantly made or presented. Perhaps, this was the reason that by the 1400s, the meaning of this word transformed to its current sense, i.e., good looking.
Sly
At present, if someone is called sly, it means that s/he is sneaky or deceitful – not in a good sense. However, the word has been derived in English from Old Norse in the 13th century and had positive meanings, including clever, knowledgeable, and skillful.
Terrible
Terrible made its way to Middle English from Anglo-Norman and Middle French. It used to mean causing terror or great dread. However, by the 1500s, the word started to mean very harsh, formidable and this gives a sense of excessive in a bad way.
Naughty
In the 1300s, if someone is naughty, it means that they were poor or needy. By the 1400s, the meaning altered from having nothing to being morally wicked. It was also used to refer to a sexually provocative person. But in the same century, it derived a gentler meaning, especially applied to kids – mischievous, disobedient or badly behaved.
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