|
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 22
stranger
|
OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 22 |
Occasionally I like to read popular novels and watch mainstream movies from the same period, about the same period. This time I chose the first half of the twentieth century. The word gay came up frequently. I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me was that I couldn't recall when the use of it had changed or why. Furthermore, I couldn't think of any other words that had changed so dramatically over such a short period of time. I could only think of words that have come and gone or have changed over a longer period of time.
Can anyone think of a word that has changed its use in culture so dramatically in such a short period of time (1950-1960?)? I'm sure there are many, but I scanned the bean for a good 15 minutes and didn't come up with one.
MrNO
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
From Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: "Gay. (Of women) leading an immoral, or a harlot's, life: 1825, Westmacott (OED), In C. 20, coll., on verge of SE.--2. Slightly intoxicated; ob. C.19-20; Perhaps orig. a euphemism.--3. Impudent, imperrtient, presumptious: US (--1899), anglicized in 1915 by PG Wodehouse, OED (Sup.)." Also, gay house = brothel; gay in the arse = (Of women) loose; to lead a gay life = to live immorally; the gay instrument = the male member; gaying it = sexual intercourse. Funny how language changes even before we were born ...
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
tot: My favorite is "drive," which formerly meant mechanical device with spining innards, now means also serial semiconductor memory dangling from keychain
dalehileman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
You might also want to check out the other, various meanings of drive, as a noun, in a good dictionary.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631 |
Words which refer to minorities--especially ones which have been discriminated against--seem to last only as long as it takes for them to acquire a stigma.
As well as words to mean "gay", words for mental retardation are another good example. There have been a whole slew of euphemisms from "mentally handicapped" to "mentally challenged." The lastest umbrella term (in New Zealand at least) is "special needs".
To these you might also add words used to describe racial and sexual minorities, disabilities, religious groups, and words which have had to be hijacked for language to keep up with the explosive trajectory of scientific and technological development.
One dramatic case in point: An "icon" used to be a venerated painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure. Now the word is more likely to put in mind the little thing on your desktop you double-click to access the Internet and read, perchance, the lastest posting at American Atheists.
Last edited by Hydra; 02/13/07 02:44 PM.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557 |
About the same time, you hear people call each other "lover" in the same way as "dear", "darling", etc., i.e. without meaning "sex partner". In particular, I'm thinking of (re-runs of) the 1952-55 sitcom "I Married Joan" with Jim Backus and Joan Davis.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
did icon only mean a holy image? i never realize or thought that, only that it meant IMAGE. the story of St. 'veronica' (a name that is, or *speculated that it is, the run together words Vera (true) and icon (image)) always seemed odd. was there a woman Veronica? or was there a woman with a Veronica? (a true image) (*see The American Heritage Dictionary, veronicaicon is used in combination with other words, and it never has a 'religious/holy' sense in these other uses, iconclast, for example.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
> iconclast
iconoclast
noun
1 a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
2 a destroyer of images used in religious worship, in particular • historical a supporter of the 8th- and 9th-century movement in the Byzantine Church that sought to abolish the veneration of icons and other religious images.
• historical a Puritan of the 16th or 17th century.
Last edited by etaoin; 02/13/07 05:30 PM.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
The verum icon folk etymology is an old one, but most agree that the Roman name Veronica is a variant of the Macedonian Greek Berenike 'bearing victory' (cf. Greek Pherenike).
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
Quote:
did icon only mean a holy image?
icon is used in combination with other words, and it never has a 'religious/holy' sense in these other uses, iconclast, for example.
An icon (from Greek εἰκών, eikon, "image") is an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it,
As icon stands for image or representation of anything ,
a religious or holy sense was for a long time the overpowering meaning. The Greek orthodox icons have been about religious representation uniquely. The word 'icon'does no longer stand for image but for that one special piece of wood painted and guilded, showing religious contents only.
The object has taken over the original meaniing of the word, so icon becomes icon . (wood, paint, Saint)
Literally, an iconoclast is a person who destroys icons, that is, sacred paintings or sculpture.
I'm sure the present use of icon for famous people is a takeover from the religious, the worshipping meaning.
In the computer world the word returns to its original meaning : image, representing anything.
Last edited by BranShea; 02/13/07 07:15 PM.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,315
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
1 members (wofahulicodoc),
340
guests, and
3
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
