That's not what I meant (S)

I do wish 'snob' had the original meaning today.

Sake is today only ever used after 'for' as in for heaven's sake'. Originally the word was a synonym for 'strife, dispute' and even 'guilt'.

Satellites are always in space, be they artificial or natural, aren't they? No. In the sixteenth century they were attendants to a person of high rank.

Saturate or soaked to the most degree today, in the sixteenth century was to completely satisfy.

Saucers today hold cups, the original sense was a small dish to hold sauce - which makes much more sense.

Savage or 'fierce' first came to English from the Latin silva meaning 'wood, forest'.

Scale is rapidly replacing 'scales' when referring to the weighing instrument, but earlier referring to the pans used for weighing (hence the plural) and started out as a drinking bowl.

Scavengers collect things discarded by others, while the first scavengers were officers employed to collect tolls levied by a mayor of a town or sheriff of a county.

Schedule, or timetable, began in the fourteenth century as a ticket or memorandum.

Scold is to reprimand, while the thirteenth century version would have been a noun describing a woman who used foul or coarse language.

Score has taken on any number of meanings, including the original sense of 'twenty'.

Secretary is one who handles correspondence, but in the fourteenth century referred to confidantes - literally those who kept secrets.

Secure, today meaning 'safe, dependable', originally meant 'carefree'.

Seedy, used in the sense of 'off colour', in the sixteenth century it described something full of seeds, which seems to make more sense until you think about the same logic applied elsewhere, which would give us cows described as 'milky', humans described as 'bloody', and rivers as 'watery'.

Seminary is an educational establishment where priests are trained, but not until the nineteenth century. Originally it referred to a seed plot or bed.

Sequins were once sewn on by the wearer of the dress in the series Come Dancing (never did understand why that was relevant to the performance), although originally they were gold coins and would have made for a very heavy dress to dance in.

Shambles may be a scene of chaos today, but originally it was a meat market.

Shampoo washes hair today, but from the original Hindi it was a verb and meant 'to massage'. Hence the 'shampoo' was not the liquid used to wash with, but the action of massaging it in originally.

Sheer can mean 'thin, pure, precipitous' today. Originally? It meant 'shining'.

Shift is to 'move, alter', and began meant simply 'arrange'.

Show or 'to point out' was originally used to mean 'see, look out, examine'.

Shrewd or cunning, is first used in English to mean 'wicked, hurtful'.

Shroud today refers to a garment used in burials, originally all garments were shrouds.

Shunt is used mainly to refer to the movement on the railways, although the minor use of 'divert' is still current, but it began meaning 'shrink away'.

Silly meant 'happy, blessed' in the thirteenth century and has only had a negative sense since the seventeenth century.

Skirts are today worn from the waist down, originally they were worn from the shoulder and were more a 'shift' than a 'skirt'.

Sky today refers to the heavens, while the original Norse word referred to 'cloud' which, by definition, has to be in the atmosphere and not the heavens. Note the origin of 'cloud' didn't refer to 'clouds' but meant 'hills'.

Slipshod or 'careless', began describing someone wearing slippers - again this makes more sense.

Slug, those things loathed by gardeners, originally referred to what we would term 'sluggard', one seen as lazy.

Smoulder, or to burn without a flame, began in the fourteenth century as a synonym for 'smother'.

Smug or self-satisfied, was used in the sixteenth century to describe someone appearing neat and trimly attired.

Snack is a small repast, a light refreshment. You certainly wouldn't want one in the fifteenth century, for it was a dog bite.

Snob or superior, started out in English meaning a 'shoemaker or cobbler', and also used by Oxbridge students to refer to the townsmen.

Socket, mainly electrical but generally anything made to accept a mating part, began as simply a little sock - could have guessed that, perhaps.

Solicit, to request, had the original usage of 'disturb' or even 'manage'.

Soluble items dissolve in water, but in the fifteenth century anything soluble was a solution to constipation.

Specious originally meant 'beautiful, plausible' instead of the modern 'false'.

Spilling a liquid today is not desirable, but from the fourteenth century 'spill' was used to mean 'kill, destroy'.

Spire is the tall steeple of a church (usually), but in the original sense describes the stems of tall plants.

Spring was not a season originally, but another word for what we call Lent.

Suggestion may be a proposal today, but when it first came to English from the French in the seventeenth century it meant 'prompting evil'.

Supercede is a synonym for 'replace' today, but began meaning 'postpone'.

Surly has really changed about for rather than the modern 'ill-mannered', in the sixteenth century it described someone as 'lordly' even 'majestic'.

That was not what I meant. (F)

I'm often asked why dictionaries change the meaning of words. Note, lexicographers never change the meaning of anything, dictionaries simply reflect current usage and therefore it is the people that change the meaning, not those producing the dictionary. Having reached the letter F, here are some more you've changed.

Fang is a long, often pointed, tooth. Yet it began in English meaning 'capture, catch', and is related to the German Gefangener 'prisoner'.

Farce or light comedy, those of a certain age will still associate this with Brian Rix, is derived from the Latin farsa meaning 'stuffed' or 'padded'. Isn't language fascinating?

Fare is, for once, a little easier to see, for while it means the cost of a journey today, it began as a reference to the journey itself.

Farm, something which can hardly of changed since we stopped being hunter gathers, surely? Wrong, while the farmers worked the land, they didn't work farms for 'farm' initially referred to the rent paid for the right to work the land, not that worked.

Fascinate began in the sixteenth century to mean 'bewitch, cast a spell upon', and only in the nineteenth century was it used to mean 'intrigue'.

Fast may mean 'speedy' today, but earlier, as in Chaucer, was used to mean 'firm'.

Fathom is used to mean either 'understand' or a measurement of depth of water equal to six feet. Yet when the word first came to English it was used to mean 'bosom, breast', but not in the modern sense but as in the area covered by the breastplate in a suit of armour - which is why men also had a breast and why everyone has a breastbone today. The change to the measurement is easy enough to explain, for that was said to be the measurement of an adult male from fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched. Six feet might not be an exact measurement in reality, but it was a near enough approximation.

Fearful - if asked to define this word we would probably say something like 'worrisome, troubling', and yet statistically the send of 'dreadful' (as in 'what a fearful racket') is by far the more common use. I include this simply to wonder whether the original use will die out completely and, if so, how quickly?

Fellow is used to mean a 'colleague', a 'lecturer', or simply 'man'. Originally it was used to mean 'fee layer', that is someone who puts the money behind a joint venture.

Fiasco has changed less than many words, for while today it refers to any great failure, historically it referred solely to a disastrous performance in the theatre or musically.

Filter, that found on cigarettes or in coffee makers, is used to separate a finer particle from the coarser. It comes from the same source as 'felt', the material created by pressing small pieces of wool together. It can only refer to usage of felt as a filter, as indeed it was from the sixteenth century.

Fizzle, as in 'to fizzle out', a failure, is an American contribution to English, appearing in the nineteenth century. When it first came to English the word was used as a synonym for 'fart'.

Flagrant today means 'outrageous, deliberate', but historically was used to refer to 'flame, burning'.

Flaw today is only used in a negative sense, but historically was used to mean the same as 'flake' does today - as in snowflake, or flake of fire.

Flighty is first seen in the sixteenth century and used to mean 'swift, rapid' - rather different from the modern 'skittish'.

Flippant has meant 'glib, inappropriately lighthearted' for most of its existence. However, when it first came to English in the seventeenth century it was also used to mean 'nimble'.

Flirt, like the previous word, has had a long term meaning and a historical one. It has always had the modern meaning of 'amorous tease' but in the sixteenth century was also used in the sense of 'smart stroke, quick jerk'.

Fond of or have a liking for, meant 'foolish, silly' in the fourteenth century.

Forfeit, a minor punishment or penalty today, came to English from Old French and shared the meaning of 'to commit a crime'.

Founder used in the sense of 'to go lame, to sink', first came to English in the thirteenth century when it was used in the sense of 'to smash in'.

Franchise is a business term today, but came to English from French originally and meant 'freedom'.

Fray to become tatty, as in material, is first recorded in the sixteenth century to mean 'rub'.

Freak might be something rather unusual today, but if you were around in the sixteenth century you would have used it in the sense of 'sudden change'.

Freelance, as in an independent employee, is not difficult to see as two words, and from there to be seen as a soldier for hire, thus a synonym for the modern 'mercenary'.

Frequent or 'happening regularly' today, but in the sixteenth century had a number of uses - including 'crowded', 'well-known', and 'addicted'.

Fret, in the sense of 'worry' and not the metal ridge on a guitar, came from a word meaning 'to eat' and later 'chafe, irritate'.

Friend in the modern era is a casual association with an another, but historically, and including in the writings of Shakespeare, a friend was a 'lover'.

Frippery today might refer to gaudy clothing and rather tacky ornamentation, for most of its use in the English language it referred to quite the opposite and meant 'old clothing, cast-offs'.

Frump is an old fashioned person today, but as recently as the seventeenth century it could be used to mean 'hoax' or 'jeer' depending on the context.

Fun, like the previous word, was used to mean 'hoax' in the seventeenth century - and also 'practical joke' - while todayit's simply any amusement.

Fuzzy is today used to mean 'indistinct', but historically used in the sense of 'spongy' and particularly applied to land covered with grass or moss.

That's My Name, Don't Wear It Out

The idea of giving children rather unusual names is not new. Every generation wants to be different and rightly so. However I've never before noticed how often the mothers of these children constantly use the name they have given to their offspring. Recently I paid a visit to the dentist who I'm sure won't mind me saying is a Mr Harrison. In the waiting room was a young family who had named their (I assumed but couldn't really tell) boy 'Harrison'. A naturally inquisitive chap (allowed to roam and thrust hands into anything he desired) every sentence ended, not in a full stop but, in a comma followed by the child's name - almost as if it would be forgotten were it not included at least once in every line. Sitting in the dentist's chair I realised this annoying mantra was audible even here, Mr Harrison (that's the one who had qualified as a dentist) clearly distracted by the constant repetition of his name.

I don't recall my mother (or father) ever using my name ad nauseum and began to wonder if the parents of the following fellows had ever subjected them to such a barrage. Considering the names these individuals were landed with, I somehow doubt it.

Among those with the silliest names in history were (I assure you each and every one is authentic) the following:

Ostrich Pockinghorn
Bovril Simpson
Seraphim Hooker
Lettuce Bedlam
Alfred Ming Belcher
Anice Bottom
Seymour Bust
Annette Kirton
Kitty Litter
Min Speiss
Pleasant Titty
Mike Rotch
Fartamalus Purdger
Horace Jealous Pratt
One Too Many Gouldstone
Thomas Posthumous Hoby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle Drax, a man who has a street named after him but thankfully Plymouth chose to limit that name to Drax.