You keep using that word….

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means – Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

I’ve come to understand that some elements of language lose context whenever enough people use them in said wrong contexts. From an evolutionary perspective, this also helps shape the form of language into alternative meanings, like in the instance of industry-specific jargon becoming popular slang or in creating new idiomatic expressions that in no way resemble their original meanings. Now, I’m no linguist myself, so indulge me in this little diatribe if only for a few minutes.