The French linguistic history is phew, you will not come back (I would even say that the 3rd one will shock you). Yes, because there are both words that we had misunderstood from the beginning and words that have completely changed over time. Evolution is crazy, isn’t it? And it’s not about to stop because with the internet, there is also a whole host of words that take on another meaning. Thanks Google !
1. “Ratio”
Before, we thought that the ratio was only a mathematical quotient a little complicated to understand when we were in 5th grade at the François Rabelais college in Angers. Now, it turns out that the ratio is a common prank tactic on Twitter that involves commenting on a post in an effort to get more likes than the author of the post for the “ratio” and thereby humiliate them. Not very nice, but we can say that it’s still fun when it’s a French tweeter who reports Elon Musk.
2. “#”
We are more about a symbol than a word, indeed, but as he has changed a lot too, I present him to you anyway. Before, the “#” simply represented a number (like “#1”), whereas today, it just means “hashtag” and it is rather a means of finding publications on social networks. #TooOuf
3. “Hack”
In France, in the past, this term was mainly used with the verb “hacker”, in “I hacked the Sims 1 xD” mode, to talk about piracy or illegal downloading. Today, the word “hack” has more of a connotation of smart advice because we use it all the time to talk about life hacks, tricks that are supposed to make our lives a whole lot easier, like what to use to replace a broken heel or how to store bananas longer. Besides, if someone has a life hack to fill his bank account without jerking off anything, I’m interested.
4. “Karen”
Again, we are on a first name and not a word, but with the evolution that I will show you, you will understand why I put “Karen” in this top. Because before social networks, the Karen, especially in the United States, could live in peace and harmony. But today, their name is far too pejoratively associated with that of a mother of a family of about 50 years old, sleazy, racist, anti-mask, who speaks badly to all the people they find inferior to her. A story that is not without reminding us of the hard life of poor Kevin who did not ask for anything.
5. “Amazon”
Amazon (with an e) was once a major Brazilian river. Now it’s a big platform that exploits its employees by forcing them to pee in bottles to take as few breaks as possible. What do you prefer?
6. “Aubergine”
I’m not going to say that in 1547 no one referred to the eggplant as a big zgeg, because I don’t know the fuck about it. But the fact remains that for a few years now, this tasty vegetable has clearly been anchored in people’s heads as the pictorial metaphor of a penis and less as a practical food for moussaka. And it’s all because of the overused eggplant emoji in sexting. Calm down actually.
7. “Bukkake”
I’m also not going to try to explain to you the pornographic drift that the word “bukkake” has taken because I think you all know what we’re talking about here. But what you probably don’t know is that before the advent of PornHub, bukkake (which means “splatter” in Japanese, yes, yes) was mainly a dish where the side dish is poured over the noodles, as in bukkake-udon or bukkake-soba, for example. You will think about it next time.
8. “Woke”
Before people who are a little too closed-minded seize on this word to make it an insult broadcast widely on Twitter (and on TV sets, yes gentlemen Zemmour and Blanquer, we’re talking to you) against progressive ideas , the word “woke” was already in use in the 19th century. It designated a person who was aware of the social problems and injustices experienced by blacks and then by other minorities in the United States. We are therefore a long way from the “moralizing” aspect that people like Éric le Z want to imply.
9. “Meme”
Too fastoche, but I put it to you all the same (mdrrrr do you have it?): this word which used to designate, among other things, similar things or which specified an element can today mainly want to designate viral images on the internet, do to make people laugh in the cottages. And if you didn’t understand what I was talking about, well just check out our top best spelling memes. I’m not going to do everything for you either.