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22 Ordinary Words With Terrifying Origins

Language is weird. The words we use today meant something completely different centuries ago. Shit, the things we say today probably had a different meaning five years ago. You just never know when a word is going to switch meaning on you.

To help illustrate this, we teamed up with wordly wise-lady AuntieMeme to show you how some of the most common words we use today had a completely alternate meaning in the past.

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Entry by AM Smiley

The word Villain originally meant household staff. DDO In 1300, a villain was a servant who worked at a villa (a country home). Those servants tende

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Entry by AM Smiley

The phrase Blue Blood actually means -skinned racist.' 15th century Castilians wanted to prove their superiority over darker-skinned races, so they m

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Entry by AM Smiley

The original purpose of Bridesmaids was to distract evil spirits. In ancient Rome, the bride's friends would all dress exactly like the bride in order

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Entry by AM Smiley

The practice of Shaking Hands was originally meant to Make sure that the person you were meeting wasn't carrying a concealed weapon. The hand clasp pr

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Entry by AM Smiley

Driving on The Right Side of the Road originated so people could point their guns at oncoming strangers. It started with walking, and continued with c

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Entry by AM Smiley

The nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice is about three noblemen put to death by Bloody Mary. Apparently the three men suspected that Queen Mary 0 wasn't

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Entry by AM Smiley

The Trojans were defeated by an army that hid inside of a wooden horse that broke open and released a swarm of warriors behind enemy lines. The Greeks

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Entry by AM Smiley

The Starbucks Siren is a symbol of seduction and death. STARBUCKS GARECT o SPI COFFEE TEA In mythology, sirens are brutal sociopaths who lure sailors

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Entry by AM Smiley

The orginal meaning of Nice is foolish, stupid, or senseless. It comes from the Latin word nescius, which literally means ignorant or unaware. In 19

13
Entry by AM Smiley

The nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary is about torture. Mary was bloody Queen Mary 0. Her garden was her graveyard. Silver bells' were th

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Entry by AM Smiley

The Versace logo is based on Medusa the snake-haired Gorgon who was SO hideous that men who looked at her turned to stone. The story of Medusa is that

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Entry by AM Smiley

The word Fornication refers to having sex in a bread oven. In Roman times, Fornax was the goddess of baking and ovens. The name comes from the word fo

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Entry by AM Smiley

The wedding tradition of Tossing the Bride's Garter began SO people would stop ripping wedding dresses to shreds. In the 14th century, it was traditio

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Entry by AM Smiley

People started Covering up yawns in order to protect their souls. Early Islamic cultures feared that the devil could enter the body through a yawn, an

8
Entry by AM Smiley

The word Deadline referred to a literal line of death. 12 11 IA 9 8 7 During the Civil War, Union soldiers were held in Andersonville Prison, a POW ca

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Entry by AM Smiley

In early France, Cheat meant a stroke of good luck. The original French word escheat referred to something gained through no effort of one's own, like

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Entry by AM Smiley

The original Bulldozer wasn't a machine. It was a man with a whip. In the early days after the Civil War, a group of Louisiana vigilantes wanted to pr

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Entry by AM Smiley

The medical symbol Caduceus is actually the staff of Mercury, the Roman god of (among other things) merchants and thieves. It's possible that the Cadu

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Entry by AM Smiley

Saying Bless You when someone sneezes means you think they're going to die. During the Black Plague of the 6th century, Pope Gregory instructed peop

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Entry by AM Smiley

The phrase Seven-year Itch actually refers to scabies. AIthough the termhas come to describe spouses who develop a wandering eye after seven years of

2
Entry by AM Smiley

Considering a person to be an Adult at 21 dates back to medieval times, when people believed a man was strong enough to wear armor, at that age. Armor

1
Entry by AM Smiley

The original purpose of the Best Man was to help the groom kidnap his bride. In the Dark Ages, men would pillage their brides from neighboring communi

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