Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Language Change - Words that have changed diachronically

Nice - From the latin "nescire", originally meaning "to be ignorant" and "to be silly", but today means "to be pleasant". "Nice" has undergone amelioration, as it has shifted from having a negative meaning, to meaning something a lot more positive. It could be said that the essence of the word has ranged from foolish and cowardly to elegant and effeminate.

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