January 5, 2007
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Etymology—”You look nice!”
Seashull , posted this on her blog this week:
I just read that calling someone a secretary is a putdown. When did this happen? I’ve been happy to call myself a secretary for nigh onto half a century now. It’s what I’ve ALWAYS DONE and STILL DO (part-time now) at home, for a volunteer organization, for a church.This was my reply. I decided to post it here to see if there was any interest in the topic of Our Changing Language:
****So weird, yet we still have the Secretary of Defense. Language is always changing, depending on the fashion and people’s sensitivities.
The word “nice,” for instance came from the Latin nescius, which meant “not knowing” or “ignorant.” The French turned “nescius” into “nice” and used it to convey simplemindedness. By the 14th c., the word came to mean “lascivious” (spelling corrected thanks to Linda)! When Chaucer used the word to describe a lady, he meant that she was a loose woman. But in the next century, the word went under a mindblowing transformation and came to mean “dainty” or “refined.” By the 18th c. it meant “agreeable.”
The modern use of “nice” as something “kind” was labeled as a slang usage up until the 1930s. It is such a bland, two-faced word to me that I can hardly stand to use it.
I’m blathering on and on about one word to show how much something can change, but ultimately it is up to us to mold our language. I recommend using the word “secretary” with a sophisticated accent as often as possible! (I would love to go to the park with you, but I am a secretary and cannot be getting my hands dirty today…She is such an accomplished woman; she is a secretary…I wrote a note to Condoleezza Rice because we secretaries need to stick together…)
I worry because, for some time now, my kids have been using the word “sick” to mean that something is wonderful. Help!****
|||||| lynard
Comments (8)
It’s true about the secretary thing! Actually, the switch was just made in my office, proving that we are not on the cutting edge. lol. The “memo” regarding the change explained the switch by saying that our secretaries do much much more than simply take dictation, and type now, and “assistant” evokes more of the level and type of responsibility that they have. I think it’s funny because I GUARANTEE I use my “assistant” far less than I would have even 10 years ago. Computers have really made dictaphones and dictation totally obsolete and that means far less for “assistants” to do.
Isn’t it confusing and maddening when what you think your children have been saying is not really what you thought because someone changed the meaning of the word and the secretary did not get the memo out to you?!?!?
seashull and her family have always been a thought provoking bunch, right Drew??
‘Nice’ post and you are a nice girl ! Hope you are nice to your secreteary! Have a nice day!! Love, Your nice sister in law!!
Oh, you *so* didn’t want to get me started on changing language (because then I’d have to mention that you misspelled “lascivious”). [cough]
The generation behind us has definitely been flipping the language on purpose, a lot faster than words had flipped previously. In my adult lifetime so far, bad has turned into good, wicked has turned into wonderful, and whole other words that have nothing to do with quality of character have come to mean these things: Something can be fly, whack, or any number of adjectives with meanings they never knew they had.
To me, words have meaning, and they have meaning for a reason: so that we may communicate clearly to one another, and to God. And, so that God may communicate clearly to us! I don’t take words lightly. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.
Apparently the creator seems to think words are pretty important too. They communicate. They transfer important information from one source to another. To start changing definitions without good reason irks me. Oddly, though, I can handle a younger generation that changes words for fun (whack, fly, fo’ shizzle, etc.) more than I can handle a culture that changes words out of sheer laziness (alright, anymore, ain’t … all becoming accepted mostly because people have gotten it wrong so often now that the language police have given up and knuckled under).
I mean it. You don’t want to get me started on language changes for the sake of laziness and catering to the *least* common denominator.
P.S. I think you should have called this entry “Entomology” instead of “Etymology,” because this topic really BUGS me!
glad you like my hair!
OK, I know it is not proper etiquette to answer people on my site, but…
OnRway3, are you calling me a loose woman or a fastidious girl?
and
Austruck, I fixed the spelling for you. (I thought something looked dodgy…)
|||||| lynard
I guess they are changing titles and want us to use the new titles. Although, I seriously doubt the older guys will ever make the switch. The oldest (and slightly senile) partner, still calls me “gal Friday” because he can’t remember my name, and thinks I’m a secretary. LOL!