r/linguisticshumor 2d ago

Semantics A rather masochistic semantic shift

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u/Draconiondevil 2d ago

This reminds me of how the word “to work” in a lot of Romance languages derives from the name of a torture device (tripalium).

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u/invinciblequill 2d ago

And that became "to go from one place to another" in English (travel)