That’s Nice
Effective communication between us assumes we agree on the
meaning of the words we’re using. At least two issues arise. One concerns the
confusing use of slang that inverts a word’s meaning, a practice typical of
teens and those in their twenties. The other is words whose meaning changes
over time.
Take the word bad. We agree that it means “not good”
or “harmful.” Yet its slang usage is the opposite and means “good,”
“appealing,” etc., as in “That party was bad.”
Then there’s sick. That’s the reason you didn’t show
up to work. In slang the meaning becomes “awesome,” “impressive,” etc. Example:
“Your presentation was sick.”
Words with opposite meanings are called contronyms. But the
slang meanings are likely to be short-lived; slang tends to have a short
half-life.
English has a surprising number of what we could call
established contronyms, words whose double meanings have endured. One example
is cleave, meaning to “split” and to “hold together.” Another is: overlook,
meaning to look over and to neglect to look at.
Then what of words that change their meaning over time? Girl,
for example, used to refer to a child of either sex. Egregious once meant
“remarkably good” or “eminent.” Today, it means “shockingly bad,” as ThoughtCo
puts it.
The poster-child for a word whose meaning kept changing is nice.
Michael Quinion, a lexicographer, says it has gone through more shifts in
meaning than almost any other English word.
It entered English around 1300, meaning “foolish” or “ignorant.”
Calling someone “nice” was an insult. Its meaning shifted in the 1600s to mean “dainty”
or “fussy,” then “precise” or “careful.” It then slowly morphed into meaning “agreeable”
or “delightful,” and eventually to “kind” or “pleasant,” the sense in which we
use it today. Now you know.
Have a nice day.
[300 words]
