The Unexpected Evolution of Language by Justin Cord Hayes

Author:Justin Cord Hayes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781440542794
Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.
Published: 2012-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

grin

ORIGINAL DEFINITION: showing the teeth due to pain or anger

NEW DEFINITION: show the teeth in a smile

Sometimes it can be painful to hold a grin for too long, which is why most people’s family photos are so unintentionally creepy. Those aren’t grins; they’re faces of discomfort. The pain that leads to cheesy yearbook and photo album smiles is appropriate to the word’s original meaning.

The words that originated “grin” mean such things as whine, howl, or cry. In other words, “grins” were more like what we now call grimaces. Your teeth are bared, yes, but not in joy or contentment or even to satisfy a photographer’s demand. Instead, your teeth are pulled back in pain or possibly in anger.

By the late fourteenth century, “grin” began to change in meaning. The modern sense of the word most likely came via the sense of a forced smile, which often masks pain or anger. By the early modern era, grins were awaiting the day they could become caught awkwardly in photo albums, yearbooks, and newspapers.

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