Another day, another word

Ok, time for me to ramble on a bit.

One of the things that fascinates me about language is its organic nature. In that the meaning attached to a word or phrase is mutable, it changes over time and usage. So for the next couple of words' I will look at some words whose meaning has changed or been greatly expanded over time. Which brings us to today's word. (Nice segue, don't you think?...)

Weird

Now, I assume that everyone is familiar with this word, as it is still in general use today. However the common usage of it today, as in 'strange', 'out of the ordinary', and 'disturbing' ("You're really weirding me out, man!") is very different from its origins. The person we have to thank for that is none other than 'Old Bill', William Shakespeare.

His description of the Three Witches in Macbeth (It is OK to type the name, just not to say it. If you don't know what I am talking about, I'll tell you later) as Weird Sisters set the word on the path to the common usage we know today.

Prior to this the word came from the Old English, word of Wyrd which literally meant "That which comes" and was used to describe fate, destiny and prophesy.

Shakespeare used it in this sense in The Scottish Play to describe the three witches when they told both Macbeth and Banquo what their future would hold. One to be King and the other to father a line of Kings.

Now this is what I find interesting, while Shakespeare's intended use of the word was for it's traditional meaning of fortune telling, it came over time to adopt it's more modern meaning of strange because of it's use in the play and the way the witches have been portrayed on stage since the 1600's.

So the man who is responsible for changing the meaning of Weird, did not actually intend it to happen.

Weird isn't it!...