What words have changed common meaning?

[theelectricnorth]

I am currently watching White Christmas, and it has got me thinking about words that have changed what people would first think of when they hear it, compared to what they would have thought 50+ years ago (or any time really).

For example, according to merriam-webster dictionary, 'gay' means:

1. Of, relating to, or characterised by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's same sex
2. Happily excited

Now, most people I know, these days, will automatically relate 'gay' to definition number 1, however this wasn't the case x many years ago. So, I was wondering, what other words do you know that have changed 'main' definition over time?

(The part of the film that got my brain going in case anyone was wondering... Judy and Phil were talking about engagement:
Judy: Of course, it's got to be a man.
Phil: That's an absolute must.
Judy: No, no, no. I mean a mature man. You know, one with talent and experience. One that's witty, gay, charming, attractive.)

I think 'making love' didn't mean having sex but meant telling someone you love them. Can't think of specific examples but I'm sure I've read it somewhere.

The classic example is Darcy in Pride and Prejudice - I can't remember the exact quote but it's something along the lines of him violently making love to her.

Vicious- in Jane Austen’s time it meant someone who indulged in vices, such as heavy drinking and gambling.

"let" used to mean hinder or stop.

Me too!

Kind , it used to mean being thoughtful and respectful about other peoples feelings. Now it is a command made by people with loud voices.

W. E. Johns (author of Biggles) was particularly fond of "ejaculated" iirc.

DH always chuckles at parts where Holmes or Watson ‘ejaculate into the conversation’. (DH’s paraphrase I suspect).

That reminds me of the Fast Show character who would be in the middle of something very mundane with another person/people - and would then just pause for a moment, have a slightly pained look on his face and say "Oh, excuse me, I've just come!"

Handsome was once used to describe women, which you don't hear now at all. However, you do occasionally hear people nowadays describe a man as pretty.

I am fairly sure that 'making love' to someone used to mean roughly what we mean now by 'making up' to someone - to be attentive and flattering, as per Oxford Dictionaries:

DATED
pay amorous attention to (someone).

@BreakfastAtMilliways

parts where Holmes or Watson ‘ejaculate into the conversation’.

Biggles and his associates used to do that too.

Spastic- still a medical term for muscle spasms and was used when referring to people with those medical issues. Now offensive.

Mongol- used to mean people from Mongolia, got confused as some people thought those with Down’s syndrome looked like people from that region and also now seen as offensive.

The N word which I won’t use. Was used as a colour descriptor, now clearly offensive to most people, still used by some to describe themselves.

NB not using any of these to be antagonistic- just as examples of words that used to be used descriptively without judgement attached and have become words that are seen as horribly offensive.

As in 'without let or hinderance', which is about the only time that old usage crops up. But 'let' with its common meaning of 'allow' is also old.

"Maria Montessori in her original books talks of working with retards. Yes the meaning is the same but the use is different..it's a word I find particularly offensive in any circumstances today."

A lot of the 'insult' words we're not allowed to use today were once official words for mentally handicapped people eg idiot and cretin.

"Spastic- still a medical term for muscle spasms and was used when referring to people with those medical issues. Now offensive."

Spasticity still used by some doctors apparently. I was told this less than 5 years ago by a mother of a child with cerebral palsy.

I don't know if it's so much changed common meaning as people misusing it, but seeing reticent used as a synonym for reluctant always irritates me. It means uncommunicative, not readily revealing one's thoughts.

As Gwenhwyfar said it is a medical term. There are different types of cerebral palsy so it distinguishes it from ataxic or dyskinetic or mixed cerebral palsy. I have spastic cerebral palsy.

It was a shame that spastic or spaz or spakker become insulting. The Spastic Society changed its name to Scope and it was for good reason but I feel it lost some of the special focus on information and campaigning for support for people who have cerebral palsy and now supports a range of disability.

Just re-phrase to say that a doctor would use spastic to distinguish from other types of cerebral palsy such as ataxic. I have spastic cerebral palsy and was sad that due to the abuse the Spastic Society needed to change its name to Scope. It felt like an important resource and campaigning organisation widened focus and covers a range of BBC disability, whereas other disability or illness or ND have specific things such as diabetes uk or National Autistic Society.

'Bimbo' originally meant a vain man.

It did. I have a 1920s school story in which a girl is praised for her ability to 'make love to the cook' - meaning that she could flatter the cook into giving them illicit jugs of hot lemonade.

Years ago walking around looking at the Bayeux tapestry with an English audio thingy held to my ear I remember the expression of a couple of children when they said the new king of England was, "William the Bastard".

There are regional uses of words too, 'while' can mean 'until' in some places.

Gay is interesting, it was used with its original meaning but also as slur, the gay community introduced the acronym (actually it should be a backronym), "good as you" in order to reclaim it and they have been so successful it is now the main meaning.

Woke

…used to mean a person who had awoken to the deep ingrained structural discrimination in America.

Now means a doofus who follows any cause they see on TikTok. Campaigning for men to be allowed in women’s areas, banning Christmas, making obesity compulsory, hating hetros or whatever it is this week.
Or as a right wing way to put down anyone slightly left leaning.

I call puss puss puss when I am calling the cat. I call her a pussy cat.
I don't refer to my genitals in anyone else's gentials in conversation unless to a doctor so would not need to use slang.
I take it quite personally that you feel I don't have innocent intentions and actually a reflection on you that you feel a completely normal way of addressing a pet is not appropriate.

Which makes the later creation "himbo" all the sillier!

Ignorant often seems to be used to describe someone who is ignoring someone/something, rather than someone with a lack of knowledge.