# Are there any words that have come to mean the exact opposite of their original meaning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624 "2010-06-26T21:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/141 "2010-07-08T02:18:17Z")
> [@Staver808](#): > > I don’t know if this counts. But Nimrod in the bible was a great hunter and a feared warrior(jock). Now a nimrod is an idiot(dork) instead. I know an idiot isn’t the opposite of warrior, but taken in the high school context of jock vs dweeb, it is. Blame Bugs Bunny. In an **INSPIRED** comment, he said of Elmer F-f-f-fudd: “What a _NIMROD_.” Awesome for three reasons: Making fun of Elmer’s hunting prowess, making it sound dorky, and using an inherently-funny word (cf. Kumquat, Platypus, Spatula). Oh, and I’d like to applaud RedSwinglineOne… can you come speak to my class? I assure you that my students who were “ **literally** starving to death” this morning and were “late because there were like\*\* literally\*\* millions of police cars blocking the street” were NOT using the word with any irony or understanding or even self-awareness. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/142 "2010-07-08T13:17:25Z")
The word semester means vacation in Swedish. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/143 "2010-07-08T13:40:43Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Yes, I call it hyperbole creep. I’m sure actual etymologists have a proper term for it. You start with a perfectly good word which means something specific and then people start to use it as hyperbole and at first it has great effect (because people are used to it being a word that is used to mean what it means). Then as people slowly become used to the idea that it is a word that is thrown around carelessly as a term of general emphasis it loses its value as hyperbole, so the hyperbolist has to move on to abuse of some other word, and so it goes. I totally get what you mean, and it’s awesome you picked up on that too. Hyperbole creep is the most epic failure of our time, literally. I blame marketing execs and people who write Hollywood trailers. These guys are the absolute worst. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/144 "2010-07-08T13:49:10Z")
Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/145 "2010-07-08T14:10:14Z")
_Presently_. The **correct** meaning is “soon; in a little while.” _Lunch will be served presently._ Future tense. Almost everyone believes it to mean “now.” _We are presently discussing word usage._ Present tense. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/146 "2010-07-08T14:23:22Z")
Unlike the situation with _momentarily_, though, what you indicate as the “incorrect” definition of _presently_ is much more logical to me. And, frankly, there are sufficient words and phrases meaning “soon” that _presently_ is not missed for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/147 "2010-07-08T14:30:54Z")
[Antagonyms](http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cellis/antagonym.html) Since this was asked in GQ, I don’t think it’s bad form to link to a list. ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/148 "2010-07-08T14:32:27Z")
“Fulsome” probably fits the bill. Often used nowadays to mean ‘at length’ but the previously accepted definition was to convey something was overly lavish to the point of being toadying/ insincere. This gives scope for potential misunderstandings when its frequently used to describe apologies made or the amount of praise heaped on someone. Without further context, either definition might be true. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/149 "2010-07-08T14:38:12Z")
No word to ad. I just wanted to note that I am always amused by the way our language works. Once a word is misused enough and the misuse is commonly accepted by the masses the dictionary writers say “Fuck it”, include the meaning, and SHAZAM! it’s legit. I imagine that occurs in other languages as well. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/150 "2010-07-08T15:15:50Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Once a word is misused enough and the misuse is commonly accepted by the masses the dictionary writers say “Fuck it”, include the meaning, and SHAZAM! it’s legit. I imagine that occurs in other languages as well. That’s how all languages work, always and ever. It’s just more noticeable now than at any other point in history because of how connected we are and the historical records of usage we have access to. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/151 "2010-07-08T15:42:22Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > That’s how all languages work, always and ever. It’s just more noticeable now than at any other point in history because of how connected we are and the historical records of usage we have access to. That makes sense. Language and the art of communicating is interesting. IN the early 80s I was in a Yankee band in FL. I remember on rural southerner talking to me and between the accent and the slang I wasn’t familiar with, I was struck by the fact that this person was speaking English and I had no idea what she was saying. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/152 "2010-07-08T21:26:22Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > No word to ad. I just wanted to note that I am always amused by the way our language works. Once a word is misused enough and the misuse is commonly accepted by the masses the dictionary writers say “Fuck it”, include the meaning, and SHAZAM! it’s legit. I imagine that occurs in other languages as well. Yup, all of them - in fact, that’s one of the two main “schools” of linguistics. Descriptivists say that whichever word definition or grammatical constructs the majority of people use is or becomes, for all intents and purposes, the correct one - because that’s what most people will understand the word to mean. According to them, the object of language is to communicate ideas, and it doesn’t really matter what form the process takes as long as both parties extract the same meaning from a given message. If 80% of people think that “yes” means “no”, then “no” is a possible and entirely valid acception of the word “yes”. Prescriptivists reply : “No, goddammit ! This word only means \*that \*! It means that, because it’s derived from this word, this latin root and so forth. That’s how people have used that word for as long as we can trace it, and adding new meanings to it only leads to chaos and communication breakdowns. So stop misusing it and learn the right word to say what you mean, you ignoramus you. Oh, and don’t split infinitives or I swear to God I will END YOU.” Both positions are correct, BTW ;). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/153 "2010-07-08T21:52:30Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’ve read that the word “prove” originally meant “test”. The “proving ground” means the testing ground, not a place where something proves its worth. Also “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” means that this is where the true test of the pudding is. > > The writer of the above was explaining the expression “the exception proves the rule”. His point was that it originally meant, logically enough, that “the exception tests the rule”, in that unless you have some explanation the rule is refuted. Nowadays, the word prove has come to mean “conclusively demonstrate”, and the phrase has come to have the opposite meaning that it originally had. Oddly, in one specialized use it went in, not quite a different direction, but a skewed one: the initial strikings of coins from a new die “proved” it by showing that it would function effectively as a die for striking coins, and were in consequence called “proofs.” But because the first coins from a good new die were the crispest, clearest ones before it began to wear, a “proof coin” came to be, not the first and highest quality regularly struck coins, but specially struck coins using exceptional quality dies and burnished planchets, made especially for coin collectors. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/154 "2010-07-08T21:55:16Z")
ETA: To **Kobal2** Well let’s be descriptivists. You misspelled “for all intensive purposes.” 😉 These two positions should be on a continuum. Someone who is on either far extreme perhaps doesn’t really exist. Some, like l’Académie française, are far along it, though. It is acceptable to be okay with “literally” while decrying text-speak or “must of.” I try not to use either but would argue that it is best if the alternate mode actually adds to language (more synonyms, whatever), than is simply a misspelling or grammatical error. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/155 "2010-07-08T21:56:53Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > And Ethelred the Unready wasn 't unprepared , he simply wouldn’t listen to advice. > > But that’s not an opposite so much as a separate meaning. Actually, not so much that he wouldn’t listen, but that the advice was disastrously poor. “Ethelred the Badly Advised” would be closer to what “Unready” meant. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/156 "2010-07-08T22:06:23Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > One meaning of _discipline_ - the sense of “being a learner” (from the Latin _discipulus,_ student or learner, and _discere_, to learn) - has given way to the sense of “being a master”: not so much a giver of learning as of control, dominance, or punishment. _Self-discipline_ is not substantially different - it simply means controlling or dominating oneself. I’m going to go ahead and expand that change of meaning to the other common sense of _discipline_ - that of an academic field of study. With all kinds of scholars now competing for professional status, a _discipline_ in academia is just as much about not trespassing on foreign territory or challenging conventions (often unwritten ones) as it is about intellectual inquiry. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/157 "2010-07-08T22:08:33Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Oh, and don’t split infinitives or I swear to God I will END YOU." IMO, an educated prescriptivist wouldn’t actually have any problems with splitting infinitives in English. That rule was imposed externally and artificially by someone who wanted English to work like Latin (where the infinitive form in a single word and therefore cannot be split). > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > It is acceptable to be okay with “literally” while decrying text-speak or “must of.” And again, IMO an educated \*descriptivist \*will make distinctions between new forms of language that are correct from an objective linguistic standpoint and things that are actually speech errors. ---
**Author:** ![kim\_jung\_il](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kim\_jung\_il](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_jung_il)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/158 "2010-07-09T04:44:06Z")
The word “girl” used to mean boy. A male child was referred to as both a “boy” and a “girl”. I believe this was in 1500-1700s. Incidentally, pink was also a very masculine colour then, and blue was for a female. Source: BBC TV ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/159 "2010-07-09T05:43:48Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Well let’s be descriptivists. You misspelled “for all intensive purposes.” 😉 I think you mean “for oil intense of porpoises”. > [@](#): > > These two positions should be on a continuum. Someone who is on either far extreme perhaps doesn’t really exist. Some, like l’Académie française, are far along it, though. It is acceptable to be okay with “literally” while decrying text-speak or “must of.” I try not to use either but would argue that it is best if the alternate mode actually adds to language (more synonyms, whatever), than is simply a misspelling or grammatical error. Yes, I was probably being overly simplistic. It’s true that, as in most things, reality lies along a spectrum rather than discrete categories. Then again, as **Shot From Guns** notes, prescriptivists aren’t entirely against new terms, and descriptivists don’t let anything slide right on by either- it’s not a simplistic order vs. chaos thing. These guys can and do use their heads. Except maybe my own dear loathsome Académie. Do keep on mocking the absurd, antiquated neckbeards, for they deserve every last bit of flak they get. I’ll give them a _cédérom_… (No, no, no. I don’t care what your borderline xenophobic excuse is. You don’t pull a substantive out of your ass to use in lieu of an acronym, however foreign. Stop that, it’s silly.) > [@Shot From Guns](#): > > IMO, an educated prescriptivist wouldn’t actually have any problems with splitting infinitives in English. That rule was imposed externally and artificially by someone who wanted English to work like Latin (where the infinitive form in a single word and therefore cannot be split). Yes, I was being facetious there. I’m afraid I do that [del]sometimes[/del] always. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624/160 "2010-07-09T15:23:01Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > With all kinds of scholars now competing for professional status, a _discipline_ in academia is just as much about not trespassing on foreign territory or challenging conventions (often unwritten ones) as it is about intellectual inquiry. That’s a _cynical personal observation_, not an _established and commonly accepted definition_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-words-that-have-come-to-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-their-original-meaning/544624.md?page=9)