Words that are working its way into more popular usage

[daydream]

Oh my English. 😬

Ever since Mark Zuckerberg used the 'Meta' to rebrand Facebook, I have been intrigued by this word.

Many of the new IT terminology have also flummoxed me as to how understand them.

Interestingly, some  words in English have very fascinating roots especially those borrowed from other languages like French, Indian languages, Chinese, Latin... 

Quote

 

Meta comes from the Greek prefix and preposition meta, which means “after” or “beyond.” When combined with words in English, meta- often signifies “change” or “alteration” as in the words metamorphic or metabolic.

 

The prefix meta- is notably used in metaphysics, a form of which is recorded in the 14th century for philosophy concerned with the first principles of things, the nuts and bolts of reality and existence. Heavy stuff.

 

Meta-, here, suggests “transcending” or “overarching,” helping it become a synonym for “self-referential” by the 1980s in postmodernism and popular culture, used for creative works that alluded to their own form, genre, tropes, or other conventions. Think art about art. One early instance, for example, described an appearance of a real-life TV news anchor of Murphy Brown, a sitcom about a fictional anchor, as meta.

 

Spoiler

 

https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/meta/

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by happiness IS

[daydream]

 

https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/english-words-changed-meanings/

Fine

The word ”fine” came from the French word, ”fin” or end. Today, it has evolved to mean something that is ”the best,” ”the ultimate” or ”the top of the line.” Thus, initially fine, means either something of high quality or the end. The high quality meaning is what made it into the English language, which became associated with something delicate. It implies top quality as the item was produced with high precision.

[Qapla]

Fine also has the meaning of "small" as in "fine thread" or "as fine as hair" - referring to the size/diameter of the thread, not its quality.

 

Many English words have multiple meanings.

 

 

[daydream]

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-people-use-idioms

 

Language experts have found that idioms aren’t just for fun. They’re an important part of how we communicate. Some experts suggest people may have as many idioms as they do words in their common vocabulary.

 

Do you think idioms seem odd? After all, why would we use so many phrases with meanings different from the literal meanings of the words that make up those phrases? Some experts suggest that this is powerful evidence of the fact that humans aren’t meant to function on only a literal, logical basis.

 

https://www.britannica.com/list/7-everyday-english-idioms-and-where-they-come-from

 

“Turn a blind eye”

 

Spoiler

 

[daydream]

In color. That might help in procuring the answer to above idiom. Maybe not. 😁

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by happiness IS

[Hotteok]

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/15-words-invented-by-shakespeare/

 

This is interesting!

[daydream]

On 12/21/2021 at 4:16 PM, VisualizeUrParadise said:

interesting!

Quote

Shakespeare must have loved the prefix un- because he created or gave new meaning to more than 300 words that begin with it. Here are just a few:

• Romeo & Juliet. 1599

  Undress

 

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/words-invented-by-shakespeare

 

Words Invented by Shakespeare

 

Fans of Divergent, Shakespeare brought us the adjective dauntless by adding the -less suffix to the verb daunt. In Henry VI, Part 3, Lewis says, “Yield not thy neck to Fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind still ride in triumph over all mischance.”

 

If you’re more of a Foreigner fan, you can thank Shakespeare for hot-blooded — and cold-blooded while you’re at it. If you liked Fergie singing about her swagger in “Boom Boom Pow” with the Black Eyed Peas, you can thank Shakespeare for that too because Midsummer Night’s Dream from 1600 has the first known written use of the word swagger, formed by adding the -er suffix to the verb swag, which meant something like “to sway without control.”

Edited December 22, 2021 by happiness IS