The Changing Standards

This (surprise, surprise) is about words, so don't anticipate some sharp assault on moral standards. In the English language, it turns out, many words have shifted meaning, so much that their values have changed, so to speak.

Awe
The word, "awe," used to refer to something that inspires terror. Even today, if you looked in the dictionary, you'd find that it is defined as "an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime." We've retained the "veneration" and "wonder," but mostly let slip the "dread." So in former times "awesome" meant something that inspired terror. Our current usage is quite the opposite. Interestingly, "awful" went the other way. "Awful" was used to refer to things that inspired respect and admiration but now we mean something is going bad.

Terrific
With that one under your belt, I'm sure you can see this one coming. "Terrific" to us is something really great. Clearly it originated in something that caused terror.

Mean
It's not just about opposites. It's about shifting standards. So as an adjective, "mean" once meant (and still does in certain applications) "average" and, from that, "humble" or "dull." Of course, now it refers to petty, unkind people. Or it could mean "excellent" as in "He makes a mean salad." Like I said ... shifting standards.

Symposium
Today you might attend a symposium, a conference on a particular topic. Originally it meant a drinking party. Hmmm. Perhaps they're not as different as I thought, given the reputation of what goes on around conferences these days.

Nice
"Nice" means "kind" although, mostly, in a tepid way. "She's ... nice." Originally it meant "foolish" or "weak." It eventually evolved to mean "shy" or "reserved." In the mid-1700's it became positive. Shifting standards.

Egregious
You may have heard this term. It means something really bad. It didn't originally. It's origin is in the term for "the flock" (think "gregarious") and meant "rising above the flock." It referred to something exceptional or distinguished. Eventually through irony it shifted to the opposite. If you did egregious work originally you did outstanding work; now it is horrible.

Moot
This is one of my favorites. A "moot point" today is one that is of no importance. It's done. It's meaningless. It can be ignored. Originally it meant a concept that needed to be examined and talked about. Precisely the opposite.

Silly
Continuing with the changing standards idea, "silly" once meant someone that was innocent or deserving of sympathy. No more. Those people are now "silly" -- naive and ignorant and deserving of ridicule.

Evangelical
Now there's a word that has changed meanings. In its original form (based in Greek) it simply meant something or someone that brought good news. In the 18th century the term was used to refer to a particular movement in Christendom. In response to liberalism, this movement sought to 1) counter liberal theology while 2) distancing themselves from fundamentalism. So they had, essentially, 4 points on which they rested -- conversionism, biblicism, crucicentrism, and activism. They understood these as basic to Christianity. You have to be converted -- born again. The Bible is inerrant and the sole authority on matters of faith and practice. Christ's substitutionary atonement in His death and resurrection is the only remedy for sin. And we need to act. Today, of course, "evangelical" means something different. Some "Evangelicals" are attempting to "save evangelicalism" by stripping it of everything it once meant. "If we don't drop that silly, egregious biblical inerrancy thing, evangelicalism will be moot." That kind of thing. Others are claiming the term for themselves while they deny its meaning. And enemies of Evangelicalism use it as a term of disgust. "Oh, you're one of those awful nutjobs." (Which is odd since just what "one of those" refers to is no longer clear, is it?)

Which goes to illustrate the way of our own world, where things that were once considered bad are now good and vice versa ... and not always in a good way.