22 Ordinary Words With Terrifying Origins

Language is weird.
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.

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