Etymology

Words. Where they came from. How they shifted. Who benefits from the shift.

A living glossary of words whose meanings have shifted. Each entry: word, origin, original meaning, when it changed, who benefits from the change. Where a memo on the site unpacks a word at length, the entry links to it.

Entries listed in the order they were added — newest first.

[ Example Word ] /prə.nuhn.see.AY.shuhn/
Origin — e.g. Latin · 1400s · via Old French
Original meaning What the word meant when it first appeared.
Shifted to What it means now, or how it was redefined.
When Approximately when the shift happened.
Who benefits Who needed the meaning to change, and why.

Short prose note — the context, the colour, the reason this word matters.

Related memo

[ Memo title that unpacks this word at length ]

One-line note on what the memo does with this word.

[ Future entries appear here ]

Entries added as words are noticed. Each one short — word, origin, shift, who benefits, a note. Memos elsewhere on the site link in via the “Related memo” box.