I was reading Sherlock Holmes for the frillion and eleventy-umpteenth time this evening, and it struck me that nobody ever hugged anyone in those stories. They ‘embraced’ each other.
Nowadays ‘embrace’ is used mostly in cheap Harlequin romance novels and means making out, pretty much, but back then you could embrace in a romantic fashion or a friendly fashion.
So when did we start using the word ‘hug’?
From the OED:
as a verb: 1567
as a noun: 1659
It possible that Victorian prudishness made the word disappear in the late 1800s – the examples in the OED seem to peter out around then. However, this may not mean anything, since the word is obviously in use now and there are no 20th century examples of most of the senses of the word – clearly an editorial decision that doesn’t imply anything about the use of the word.
The word “hug” to me (and, I’m imagining, to a Victorian writer) implies something quite physical and encompassing, while the word “embrace” includes within its meaning the possibility of something considerably more restrained and formal – no more than placing ones hands lightly on the shoulders of another, for instance.
It occurs to me that the clothing worn by both sexes in Victorian and early Edwardian times (for those classes of people likely to find their way into a Holmes story at least) was considerably more restricting than we’re used to, and would probably make an attempt at a proper hug somewhat uncomfortable.