… then some words we’re used to using regularly wouldn’t mean the same thing at all. In the last post we talked about how spelling and pronunciation have changed in English over the years, but you need to be aware that definitions have changed as well. Sometimes those differences are subtle, but sometimes they give a sentence a completely different meaning to our modern eyes. It’s just something to keep in mind when you’re reading texts that were written more than fifty years ago. Granted, the meanings of words can change quite quickly when you’re talking about slang (today’s use of sick to mean “good, excellent” being one example), but in general most written English texts correspond to the vocabulary of their times, and it generally takes more than two generations for a word to really vary in its meaning. Here are some examples:

propaganda
This word comes from the Latin verb propagare and originally shared its meaning of “to spread, to send out” (information or instructions) in a positive sense. However, after World War I, the word came to mean the spread of false or misleading information.

enthusiasm
The Greek roots of this word translate as “possessed by a divine spirit” and in the 16th century, the more sober and pragmatic Puritans used it as a negative word to describe someone who was overly emotional. Today, we use the word to mean a strong positive sense of or liking for something.

manufacture
With today’s rush to return to a simpler time and hand-crafted goods, it’s easy to forget that this word is based on the Latin word manus, or “hand.” In fact, originally all manufactured goods were made by hand! Since the Industrial Revolution, though, we have associated something “manufactured” as something “made by machines.”

amuse
In the 16th century, something designed to amuse was meant to cause a person to muse, or to stare with fixed attention at one thing. This would allow the person doing the amusing to fool, trick, cheat, or steal something while the other’s attention was diverted. After the 18th century, an “amusing” person was enjoyable to watch, not someone to avoid.