Much like a Pokémon that keeps leveling up, words can evolve and add new definitions over time. One example is “decimate,” a term commonly used to describe large-scale destruction. But that definition is a modern creation, as the word had a far more specific meaning in ancient history that’s since been largely usurped and replaced.

The English word “decimate” incorporates the Latin prefix deci-, meaning “one-tenth,” but more specifically, the term comes from the Latin decimatus, a past participle defined as “the removal or destruction of one-tenth.” In ancient Rome, it was a known practice to kill one out of every 10 soldiers as a punishment for the larger group. Language sticklers might argue that using “decimate” should imply eliminating exactly 10% of something, rather than describe widespread destruction.

Despite this historical definition, it would be wrong to say people are using “decimate” incorrectly. Words develop new meanings over time, and in this specific context, people began using “decimate” as a synonym for “annihilate” as far back as the mid-17th century. So while the history of a word is worth noting, to claim a modern use is wrong is being a bit pedantic while ignoring the fact that all languages evolve over time (just compare Shakespeare’s English to Chaucer’s for proof). 

This doesn’t apply just to “decimate,” of course — several English words had highly specific meanings in ancient Rome. For instance, “century” referred to a company of 100 Roman soldiers; now we primarily use it to refer to a period of 100 years. “Triumph” was a specific term for a victorious general’s procession through Rome, and now refers more generally to success in various forms. It’s important to acknowledge the historical context of language while embracing its modern meaning.

Blazers can be worn formally or casually, and come in many patterns, materials, and colors. You may prefer an understated tone like navy blue or gray. Or perhaps you’d rather dress in a bold plaid, or a bright orange like Jim Carrey’s character from the movie Dumb & Dumber. The possibilities are virtually endless today — but the first garment that was called a blazer designated a group membership and association with a certain sport in  19th-century England.

Jack Carlson, author of Rowing Blazers, discussed the sartorial history and name origin of these jackets during a 2015 speech to the National Arts Club. He spoke on the athletic qualities of the jacket’s origin, explaining, “The first blazers were meant to be worn in boats by rowers at Oxford and Cambridge … They were very loose-fitting, sort of the equivalent of a modern day windbreaker, and were meant to keep rowers warm during chilly training sessions and races on early mornings.”

These jackets were worn at various English rowing clubs, but the term “blazer” was coined in reference to those worn by members of the Lady Margaret Boat Club at St. John’s College. These particular garments were recognizable for their bright scarlet hue, and the name “blazer” was chosen for its association with fire and brilliance. Most teams had jackets in various bright shades or stripes to allow spectators to identify their favorite athletes. 

The rowers took to wearing their jackets on dry land as a status symbol, much in the way of a football letterman’s jacket. Soon other athletic clubs, including those for croquet, rugby, and soccer (they would call it “football”), wanted their own jackets — and according to Carlson, by the 1890s, jackets in any color or pattern were being called blazers. 

The style jumped across the pond to Ivy League schools around the turn of the 20th century, and loose-fitting flannel jackets called “blazers” were spotted all over Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell campuses. The exact cut and style of blazers shift slightly with trends, but the word itself remains widely used, even as the fashion evolves.

Who could forget the famous words of Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather: “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse”? This line — one of the most memorable in cinematic history — expertly encapsulates his intentions in a casual yet pointed remark. But it might capture the attention of grammarians for another reason: The deliberate use of “gonna” rather than “going to” helps the line land smoothly, and amplifies its impact. “Gonna” can do the same for your everyday conversations — even the dictionary says so.

While many slang terms will never make it into formal lexicons, “gonna” has earned its place in the hallowed pages of the Oxford English Dictionary as a variation of the etymon (a fancy way of saying “original version”) “going to.” Similarly, Merriam-Webster recognizes “gonna” as an informal pronunciation and spelling contraction for “going to.” While it may seem like a modern invention, “gonna” is nothing new.

The phonetic simplicity of “gonna” has ensured its longevity and spread across continents. An early recorded usage dates to an 1806 collection of poems by Scottish writer Alexander Douglas: “Now, Willie lad, I’m ganna gie You twa or three directions.” This Scottish dialect was the likely genesis of the contraction, which later crossed the Atlantic Ocean and spread throughout New England. By the late 19th century, spelling variations included “gaunna” and “goin’ a”; “gonna” finally emerged in a 1904 Daily Times article in Watertown, New York.

Today, “gonna” is so ingrained in conversational American English that it’s almost the de facto pronunciation of “going to.” But this use of informal contractions isn’t an isolated occurrence. Similar terms — including “wanna” (short for “want to”), “gotta” (“got to”), and “kinda” (“kind of”) — also emerged during the 19th century, marking a shift in preference toward contractions in casual conversation. 

Although “gonna” isn’t gonna fly in academic writing or business communications, it’s perfectly acceptable in relaxed settings. It keeps the conversation flowing without sounding too stiff — whether you’re delivering the lines of a mobster in a Hollywood film or chatting over a cup of coffee with a friend.

Almost everyone has heard the advice to avoid talking about money in social situations. Etiquette isn’t our specialty, but language is — and since discussions of money apparently have an impolite connotation, a number of different slang words, or euphemisms, have cropped up to fill the gap. Though the word “money” is not inherently vulgar, euphemisms stand in for concepts people are uncomfortable talking about directly. Here are some of the offbeat terms used over the years to refer to the cash in our pockets. 

Cash IS king. “Cash” was coined in the 1590s as a derivation of a few Romance language words: the French caisse, Italian cassa, and Latin capsa, all of which mean “money box.” Originally, “cash” referred exclusively to an actual box that people kept their money in. By the 18th century, the term was more widely used in reference to money itself.

The colloquial term “moolah” popped up in the 1930s, as seen in the Daily News (New York). The origin is unclear, but some have speculated that it might have originated from the Spanish word for mule, mula, because it’s one of the spelling variants. “Moolah” sounds right at home in a New York gangster period film. 

Bread is a familiar food, and the word “bread” was used to refer to food in general in Old English, so we know it’s long been a staple of people’s diets and acts as a barometer for the health and wealth of a society. The use of “bread” to mean “money” didn’t start until the 1940s, but using the word in a broader sense to represent one’s livelihood dates to the early 18th century. 

Dough is the uncooked material of bread, so naturally, “dough” is another slang term for “money.” It comes out of a similar reference to survival necessities such as bread. People started using “dough” for “money” in the 1850s, and it became particularly popular in 20th-century jazz music. The song “The Lady Is a Tramp” from the Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms includes the line, “No dough? Hi ho!” in reference to traveling on a whim. In more recent music, hip-hop and rap artists Lil Wayne, Chief Keef, and Notorious B.I.G. have song titles that include “dough,” and the lyrics are about making money. 

If someone has $10,000 in hand, you might say they have “10K.” This shorthand comes from the Greek kilo, which means 1,000 and is often used as a prefix in measurements (e.g., “kilogram,” “kilowatt”). But when it comes to money, the “K” always appears and is pronounced after the value, likely because “10K” is a representation of “10 thousand dollars,” in that order.

As a specifically American term for money, one “buck” usually references one U.S. dollar. However, the phrase “make a quick buck” can mean earning a larger, unspecified amount of money. (“Quick buck” also has a scammy connotation.) As it was first documented in 1856, “buck” could be a shortening of “buckskin,” which was a trading unit between North American Indigenous communities and frontiersmen. People used buckskin for making warm clothing. 

The mollusk clam with two round shells of equal size, connected by a muscle, gives us another food-adjacent term for an American dollar. Many Native American tribes turned the clam shells into wampum — strings of beaded shells used for bartering. The Library of Congress notes that wampum was regarded as legal tender in New England from 1627 to 1661. Clamshells were considered to be legal tender as recently as 1933, when Californians used them to make up for a lack of available currency during the Great Depression.

In addition to its reputation as a food trend overtaken by hipsters, “kale” is a food-based slang term for money. Its use as “money” dates back to 1902, probably related to the fact that kale is green like American dollars. “Cabbage,” also in the leafy green vegetable family, similarly means “money,” and “long green” doesn’t mean green beans, but it falls under money slang as well.   

As with many other turns of phrase that we can credit to the Bard, we have Shakespeare to thank for European currency sneaking its way into English money slang. A ducat is a gold coin formerly used for currency in many countries, but the word originated from “the name or effigy of Roger II of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, which first issued the coins (c. 1140).” The sum of 1,000 ducats is a major plot point in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, though modern audiences might remember the term better from the 1995 movie Clueless, in which the main character Cher narrates that a teacher “earns minor ducats for a thankless job.” 

“Smack” has a long list of definitions across multiple parts of speech, including as an onomatopoeia for a sharp slap.  But “smackers” or “smackeroos” are American dollars. “Smacker” entered the English language in the 1910s, likely from the sense of “smacking” some money into someone’s hand or down on a table. “Smackeroo” joined the slang fray in 1939. 

Beginning in 1869, $100 bills were printed with a “C” in the upper corner, representing the Roman numeral for “100,” so the bills came to be known as “C-notes.” In 1914, the newly established Federal Reserve issued its first official $100 bill and changed the design, doing away with the “C,” though the name remains popular.

The slang term “Benjamins” refers to founding father and American statesman Benjamin Franklin, whose portrait has appeared on the $100 bill since 1914. But according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Benjamins” only developed as a slang word for money after appearing in the lyrics for the 1994 song “One More Chance” by the Notorious B.I.G.