Words August 3, 2010
A new word seems to have entered the vocabulary on TV, the Internet and general conversations. I heard it often enough recently that I decided to ask my daughter if she knew what it meant. She happily obliged by telling me the meaning of “Skype”! What kind of word is that? It stands for: conference calls with three or more people by cell phone or mobile anywhere in the world, instant messaging, file transfer and screen sharing. I guess it is actually a brand name, but now it seems to be a general identifying name for these kinds of calls, sort of like Kleenex is generally used for any kind of soft paper tissues used to wipe one’s nose.
Another word that had me confused a while back was “interface”. I used to wonder how in the world one could “interface” with another person, when one is communicating by computer and doesn’t see the face of the other guy at all. Besides, as a seamstress the ”interfacing” I use is a stiffening material used between two pieces of fabric like a collar or a cuff to give it more substance. How confusing is that?
Sometimes I am fascinated with words and their derivation, or what they mean in a English speaking country other than America. Verges, mind the gap, tarns, and laybys are a few of the words and phrases that caught my attention in England. “Verges” mean the road shoulders, “laybys” are parking spaces alongside the road, “mind the gap” has to do with getting on and off the train so as to not step too short and fall in the empty space between car and platform, and a “tarn” seems to be a small lake or big pond.
All in all, some words and their meanings have a habit of changing over time. Take the word “cool”. It used to have a connection to either the weather or the temperature. Then back in the 50’s it came to mean something that was really wonderful, or different, or unique or special. Another one was “hip” meaning a body part. Then it meant something special or unique or wonderful, an “in” person, place, or thing.
We all can name many words that have come into use over the last 50 or so years, and especially over the last 10-20 years. Internet, computer, cell phones, I-Pods, Blackberries are among some of them. How about “green”. Once it was just a color in my crayon box. Now it has also come to mean anything to do with a clean environment.
Even some regular American words catch my attention because they may sound weird or look strange written down. Some words in the Bible, mostly King James version, have such a different meaning today than they did when it was translated those many years ago. I often think that someone not familiar with a Bible, when reading a King James Version for the first time, must struggle with a word that seems familiar, yet doesn’t seem to fit what the sentence or paragraph is saying. I’m not a scholar by any stretch, and I have no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, so I totally appreciate it when a Pastor explains a more extensive meaning to a word in the Bible, be it Greek or Hebrew because the English word seems to be somewhat inadequate.
However, there is one Word that never changes yet is ever new, is ever eternal, and is always with me. There is “The Word” or the Bible, where I learn about God, or there is “The Word”, meaning Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords as per John 1:1. “ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This Word is God. I’m still learning about this Word from His Word, and He fascinates me more than any other word I may come across. This Word loves me because He created me, he forgives me and He continues to teach me about Himself and about me! The word that best describes this Word is: Grateful!
By Carol Grant
Leave a Reply