Time changes things

Little boys were once called "girls": The shocking past of 12 words

There was a time when thousands of people were "villains," and most young people were "girls." The English language is a living, breathing thing. That’s why describing something as "nice", "terrible", or "artificial" would have meant entirely different things at other points in history. Join us in uncovering the original meanings of these everyday words!

Such a short and straightforward word! How could it ever have had a different meaning? Believe it or not, "girl" didn't always refer specifically to a young female.

Around the 13th century, in Middle English, "girl" or girle was a general term for a child or young person of either sex. It wasn't until the 15th century that "girl" became exclusively associated with any young woman.

Did you guess it? The word "guy" comes from the name Guy Fawkes, the infamous conspirator behind the 1605 attempt to blow up the English Parliament.

Effigies of Fawkes, known as "guys," were burned during the annual Guy Fawkes Day celebrations. Eventually, "guy" came to refer to any oddly dressed or grotesque figure, and later, to any man in general.

Every good story needs a "villain," but this word has humble origins. It comes from the Late Latin word villanus, which meant "farmhand" or "peasant."

As social hierarchies shifted and Medieval city-dwellers sought to distinguish themselves from those living in rural areas, "villain" came to be associated with someone of low social standing, and eventually, with someone who was wicked or evil. Talk about looking down on your neighbors.

"Nice" comes from the 12th century, when the Old French word nice meant "silly" or "foolish." It can be traced further back to the Latin word nescius, meaning "ignorant."

Basically, calling someone "nice" was like saying they were a bit of a dunce. It was only by the 18th century that "nice" had evolved to mean "coy", or "refined", before finally settling on the "agreeable" or "thoughtful" meaning we know today.

The Old Norse word for "happiness" was sæl. Do you see where this is going? Seel was the Old English adaptation of it, which derived into "seely" and eventually "silly." For a long time, before the late 13th century, it meant "blessed" or "joyous."

Over time, it evolved to mean "pious" or "innocent," and then "weak" or "helpless." By the 1570s, its definition had settled on its current meaning of "foolish" or "whimsical."

"Clue" comes from the Greek word kleos, meaning "fame" or "glory." It then entered Old English as "cliewen," which referred to a ball of yarn. Do you see the connection?

Think of the Greek myth of Theseus, who used a ball of yarn to navigate the Labyrinth and slay the Minotaur. When this myth was popularized in England by Chaucer (in the late 1300s), the image of the yarn guiding Theseus out of the maze led to "clue" becoming the term for a hint or a tool that helps solve a problem. The spelling shifted to "clue" in Early Modern English, around the 1500s-1600s.

"Naughty" might bring to mind a mischievous child or a playful prank. But we all know that "naught" means "nothing." Essentially, in Old English, around the 1300s or 1400s, if you were "naughty," you were considered "worthless" or "good for nothing!"

Over time, the meaning softened, shifting to "wicked" or simply "disobedient" or "mischievous."

Today, we may catch ourselves using "terrible" and "lousy" interchangeably. But there was a time when "terrible" meant "awe-inspiring." That’s more closely related to the other meaning of "terrible," which is horrible or frightful.

It comes from the classical Latin word terribilis, used pre-500 AD, more closely related to reverence than to dread.

In Latin, nervosus meant "sinewy" or "vigorous". Initially, it described someone outstandingly strong—but that’s not what we mean today when we say we feel "nervous".

The term as we know it today emerged in the 1700s, describing a state of excitability or anxiety, perhaps because people associated those feelings with a tensing of the muscles and sinews.

Today, the term "artificial" might conjure the image of plastic flowers or even a computer generating Artificial Intelligence. But the word once meant "full of artistic or technical skill".

That is, it was used for creations we would now refer to as art, or even technology: Things crafted by human ingenuity, most often with positive connotations. Its current negative or synthetic connotation developed in more modern times, through the 1700s-1800s.

There was a time when "meat" referred to any kind of solid food. It came from the Old English word mete, which, before the 1100s, could refer to any edible, from a juicy steak to a bowl of porridge.

It wasn't until later that "meat" narrowed its focus to the flesh of animals.

Another Greek origin. Even in Ancient Greece, if you had a myrios of problems, you still had a lot of them. Its meaning was exactly "ten thousand", although it was also used as an expression to mean "indefinitely large."

It later entered the English language in the 1550s, meaning specifically "the number of 10,000."

Have you read them?

Can you believe these books were ever banned? Here's why!

Image: Zoshua Colah

When you think of banned books, you might imagine something edgy, problematic, or revolutionary. But what if we told you that Where’s Waldo?, Charlotte’s Web, and even Little Red Riding Hood have faced censorship? We've collected some stories about the most innocent-looking titles being banned or challenged. Do you think you can guess why they were?

Image: Chelsey Marques

How could a well-known fairy tale like Little Red Riding Hood be banned? It came down to one added detail: an illustration.

The edition illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, published in 1983, was deemed inappropriate for children due to a seemingly minor element—Little Red Riding Hood was shown carrying a bottle of wine for her grandmother.

Image: BBiDDac

Martin Handford’s interactive book series—where readers had to find Waldo (or Wally) hidden within highly detailed scenes—became a worldwide sensation in the 1980s. However, one controversial illustration landed one of the books on a banned list in the US for 10 years.

Here’s why: one of the scenes, set on a beach, portrayed a small drawing of a lady showing a bit too much skin. That edition had to be revised and reapproved before it was allowed back in US schools and libraries.

Image: kiyu_01

Roald Dahl’s fantasy novel about a young boy embarking on a surreal journey inside a gigantic peach was published in the 1960s and became a beloved classic.

However, in 1986, a school district in Wisconsin temporarily banned the book after objections from a religious group. The main complaint was a poem in which a spider was described as "licking her lips"—a phrase they claimed was sexually suggestive, despite the fact that spiders don’t even have lips.

Image: cottonbro studio

Another beloved classic from the 1960s, Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy was groundbreaking for its portrayal of a flawed, curious, and fiercely independent young female protagonist.

Harriet broke the mold of the tidy moral lessons found in earlier children’s literature—a shift that, of course, some parents disliked. Over the decades, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, the book was challenged in various school districts for allegedly promoting rudeness, lying, and disobedience.

Image: michael podger

First published in 1952, Charlotte’s Web is a touching and philosophical children’s book. It tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his unlikely friendship with a wise spider, Charlotte, who saves him from slaughter using messages woven into her web.

Still, this beloved classic was banned in parts of Kansas in 2006 for a surprisingly structural reason: religious objections to animals talking. In another instance, the book was challenged for mentioning death and for its supposedly "morbid" tone.

Image: Taylor Heery

In the story, the Lorax speaks for the trees, warning against the destruction of nature at the hands of greedy industry. But this environmental message didn’t sit well with everyone.

In 1989, a school district in Laytonville, California, removed The Lorax from its reading list after local logging companies and some parents complained. They argued that the book portrayed the forestry industry in an unfairly negative light—potentially turning children against the economic backbone of their region.

Image: Hilmi Işılak

Anne Frank’s diary has undoubtedly moved generations. First published in 1952, it has been translated into more than 70 languages.

And yet, the unabridged edition of this profound document has faced challenges. In 2010, for example, a school in Culpeper County, Virginia, removed it from its curriculum after a parent objected to references to Anne’s exploration of her body and her emerging sexuality.

Image: Joshua Woroniecki

Even L. Frank Baum’s beloved fantasy novel has faced censorship. In the 1950s and ’60s, several libraries—including some in Florida and Chicago—banned the book.

Critics argued that it was "ungodly" due to its inclusion of witches and magic. Some claimed the story promoted "negativism" and "theosophy," while others objected to Dorothy’s strong-willed nature, which they believed encouraged young girls to think for themselves and solve problems without the help of men.

Image: Max Gotts

Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are was banned by many libraries and schools when it was first released. This tale of a child’s fantastical escape into a land of wild creatures was considered too dark and scary by some psychologists and parents.

Others objected to Max’s behavior—particularly a scene in which he yells at his mother and is sent to bed without dinner.

Image: Jan Huber

Shel Silverstein’s picture book tells the story of a boy and a tree. Over the years, the tree gives everything to the boy—its apples, branches, and trunk—until nothing is left. Readers have debated for decades whether it is a fable of unconditional love or a cautionary tale of exploitation.

This debate has led to censorship in some circles. The book has been banned or challenged for allegedly promoting selfishness on the part of the boy and self-sacrifice to the point of self-destruction on the part of the tree.

Image: Ellen Kerbey

This 1960s picture book tells the story of a young donkey named Sylvester who finds a magic pebble that grants wishes. One day, in a panic, he wishes to become a rock to escape danger—and becomes trapped in that form for months.

However, in the 1970s, the book was banned in several US schools and libraries, including some in Illinois and California, mainly because police in the story were depicted as pigs. Some law enforcement groups protested, claiming the imagery was anti-police.

Image: Nataliya Vaitkevich

Another title by Dr. Seuss made the list! It may sound unbelievable, but Green Eggs and Ham was banned in China for about 30 years due to political concerns.

The ban claimed that the book contained "early Marxist ideas" and could be interpreted as promoting rebellion against authority. The notion that someone persistently tries something unconventional and ends up liking it was seen by censors as a subversive message.