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The meaning of words is not set in stone. A word that used to mean one thing, can change over time to mean another. A hundred years ago, 'gay' used to mean 'merry'. Now it is no longer used in this...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T21:57:41Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47629 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T12:49:19Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47629 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
The meaning of words is not set in stone. **A word that used to mean one thing, can change over time to mean another.** A hundred years ago, 'gay' used to mean 'merry'. Now it is no longer used in this sense. Sometimes the meaning of a word contradicts its own etymology. As an example, the French 'embrasser' is rather visibly related to the English 'embrace'. It even contains the element 'bras' - arms. But what it means is 'to kiss'. It used to mean 'hug', as you might have expected, but that meaning changed several centuries ago. 'Pyromancy' and 'Necromancy' might have used to mean 'divination by means of fire/corpses' respectively, but **that's not how these words are used now**. Now these words mean 'fire magic' and 'death magic'. It doesn't matter whether it is 'right' or 'wrong' - that's just the way it is.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2019-08-28T10:58:50Z (over 4 years ago)
Original score: 7