Words change over time, in meaning as well as sound. Since much of this comes from misuse, ignorance, laziness, and even wordplay, the more you know and the less fun-loving you are, the more a scold about words you will likely be.
Over the long run, though, for each loss in meaning we gain another. Might as well live with it.
In any case, the history of words can be fascinating. For example, did you know that “rob” and “robe” have the same ancestor?
Rob means to steal by force; robe means a loose flowing garment. Both hail from the same Old High German word, which I won’t try to pronounce. “Robe” comes close to the original meaning, of “clothes.” The original became synonymous with “stealing by force” because, in times long past, one of the most common items to grab from another was clothing. When one was robbed, one often had to disrobe. It was your robes you were being robbed of. Clothes were that valuable.
No wonder, then, when clothing was a robber’s favored booty, to become poor meant utter destitution. The destitute often wandered around with nary a scrap on them.
Not only have words changed, times have, too.
When next I catch a word in painful transition, I’ll remind myself that it’s more like a peaceful clothing change than a robbery.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.