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Resources » Articles/Knowledge Sharing » Entertainments »
Curious words; where did they come from ?
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Hi,Here are some words that may be of interest to you about their shift from origin:# Backlog : It once indicated a desirable state of affairs, a backlog was a reserve ; the backlog placed on a fire to keep it going.Today it does not mean so good a state of affairs, with a pile of work that has so far been neglected.# Girl : In 13th century, girl meant any young person, whether male or female. To distinguish between them, a female was known as gay girl and a male as a knave girl.# Prevent : In 15th century, to prevent meant "to act in anticipation of some occurence". By 16th century, its sense had shifted to mean "to keep from happening".# Upset : Till 17th century, this term meant to set up or erect something. Today it means the opposite,"to capsize".# Idiot : It once described an ordinary person, idiot to distinguish from a clergyman. Today, an idiot is a person who is mentally deficient.# Nice : Prior to 15th century, nice meant 'foolish'. In 15 th century, it came to mean 'coy'. In 16th century, it meant 'fastidious'. By 18th century, it had come to mean 'good' or 'agreeable'.# Kamikaze : During World War II, Japanese suicide pilots adopted the name Kami Kaze, or 'divine wind', a storm that had destryed an invading Mongol fleet in 1281. This world is now very wary of this phenomenon.It has lost its 'divinity'.# Film : Old English word meaning 'skin',came from Greek word meaning 'the sole of the feet'.# Mae West : An inflatable life jacket named after the buxom actress Mae West. Mae West had exclaimed " I've been in Who's Who and I know what's what, but it's the first time I ever made the dictionary!"Thanks. Mrinal B.#
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Responses
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| Author: jiaqing feng 06 Nov 2009 | Member Level: Bronze Points : 0 | where?
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