The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies 'something not desirable.'
The word morality, if we met it in the Bible, would surprise us as much as the word telephone or motor car.
An anti-Semite used to mean a man who hated Jews. Now it means a man who is hated by Jews.
The meaning of words has become so blurred by past usage that 'abstract' is identified with 'vague' and 'unreal,' and 'inwardness' with a sort of traditional beatitude... The conception of the word 'plastic' has also been limited by individual interpretations.
Words change over time. 'Condescending,' for instance, was once a good thing to be. It meant that a person was willing to interact politely with people of lower social ranks. In Jane Austen's world, a lady praised for her condescension was receiving a sincere compliment.
I am still puzzled why those in the United States who truly believe in liberty should not only have allowed the left to appropriate this almost indispensable term but should even have assisted by beginning to use it themselves as a term of opprobrium. This seems to be particularly regrettable because of the consequent tendency of many true liberals to describe themselves as conservatives.
When you say 'diversity,' the term has been denigrated over the years because it has been used as a crutch.
I was struck by the way in which meanings are historically attached to words: it is so accidental, so remote, so twisted. A word is like a schoolgirl's room--a complete mess--so the great thing is to make out a way of seeing it all as ordered, as right, as inferred and following.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
A writer lives in awe of words, for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator.
Why is it upset? Shouldn't it be downset?
How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!
Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment.
Nor can one word be chang'd but for a worse.
Words are slippery and thoughts are vicious.
I'm starting to believe in the power of a name. Because it can't be a mistake if I just call it 'change.'
We're so used to using military terminology in civilian speech that we forget those terms might mean something very specific.
One has to watch the new words that are introduced into politics—you never know what you are admitting to.
We don't declare war any more, we declare national defense.
I'm a liberal. I'm confused when that became a bad word...
If you actually look at the etymology of the word 'hallucination', what it's come to mean in English is a delusion. But what it really means in the original language is to wander in the mind. That's the meaning of 'hallucination', to wander in the mind.
It's no big deal about how you get language to evolve. You cause language to evolve by saying new and intelligent things to each other.
Language changes and moves in a different direction evolving all the time. Where a lot of people see deterioration, I see expressive development
Words mean what they're generally believed to mean. When Charles II saw Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral for the first time, he called it "awful, pompous, and artificial." Meaning roughly: Awesome, majestic, and ingenious.
GENEROUS, adj. Originally this word meant noble by birth and was rightly applied to a great multitude of persons. It now means noble by nature and is taking a bit of a rest.
