22 Ordinary Words With Terrifying Origins
Language is weird.
![22 Ordinary Words With Terrifying Origins](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/2/3/4/432234.jpg?v=1)
Language is weird. The words we use today meant something completely different centuries ago. Shit, the things we say today probably had a different meaning five years ago. You just never know when a word is going to switch meaning on you.
To help illustrate this, we teamed up with wordly wise-lady AuntieMeme to show you how some of the most common words we use today had a completely alternate meaning in the past.
![The word Villain originally meant household staff. DDO In 1300, a villain was a servant who worked at a villa (a country home). Those servants tende](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/4/0/432140.jpg?v=1)
![The phrase Blue Blood actually means -skinned racist.' 15th century Castilians wanted to prove their superiority over darker-skinned races, so they m](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/0/8/432108.jpg?v=1)
![The original purpose of Bridesmaids was to distract evil spirits. In ancient Rome, the bride's friends would all dress exactly like the bride in order](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/1/0/432110.jpg?v=1)
![The practice of Shaking Hands was originally meant to Make sure that the person you were meeting wasn't carrying a concealed weapon. The hand clasp pr](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/2/8/432128.jpg?v=1)
![Driving on The Right Side of the Road originated so people could point their guns at oncoming strangers. It started with walking, and continued with c](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/3/4/432134.jpg?v=1)
![The nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice is about three noblemen put to death by Bloody Mary. Apparently the three men suspected that Queen Mary 0 wasn't](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/0/4/432104.jpg?v=1)
![The Trojans were defeated by an army that hid inside of a wooden horse that broke open and released a swarm of warriors behind enemy lines. The Greeks](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/3/8/432138.jpg?v=1)
![The Starbucks Siren is a symbol of seduction and death. STARBUCKS GARECT o SPI COFFEE TEA In mythology, sirens are brutal sociopaths who lure sailors](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/3/6/432136.jpg?v=1)
![The orginal meaning of Nice is foolish, stupid, or senseless. It comes from the Latin word nescius, which literally means ignorant or unaware. In 19](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/3/2/432132.jpg?v=1)
![The nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary is about torture. Mary was bloody Queen Mary 0. Her garden was her graveyard. Silver bells' were th](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/3/0/432130.jpg?v=1)
![The Versace logo is based on Medusa the snake-haired Gorgon who was SO hideous that men who looked at her turned to stone. The story of Medusa is that](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/4/2/432142.jpg?v=1)
![The word Fornication refers to having sex in a bread oven. In Roman times, Fornax was the goddess of baking and ovens. The name comes from the word fo](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/2/2/432122.jpg?v=1)
![The wedding tradition of Tossing the Bride's Garter began SO people would stop ripping wedding dresses to shreds. In the 14th century, it was traditio](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/2/6/432126.jpg?v=1)
![People started Covering up yawns in order to protect their souls. Early Islamic cultures feared that the devil could enter the body through a yawn, an](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/1/8/432118.jpg?v=1)
![The word Deadline referred to a literal line of death. 12 11 IA 9 8 7 During the Civil War, Union soldiers were held in Andersonville Prison, a POW ca](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/2/0/432120.jpg?v=1)
![In early France, Cheat meant a stroke of good luck. The original French word escheat referred to something gained through no effort of one's own, like](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/1/6/432116.jpg?v=1)
![The original Bulldozer wasn't a machine. It was a man with a whip. In the early days after the Civil War, a group of Louisiana vigilantes wanted to pr](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/1/2/432112.jpg?v=1)
![The medical symbol Caduceus is actually the staff of Mercury, the Roman god of (among other things) merchants and thieves. It's possible that the Cadu](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/1/4/432114.jpg?v=1)
![Saying Bless You when someone sneezes means you think they're going to die. During the Black Plague of the 6th century, Pope Gregory instructed peop](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/0/6/432106.jpg?v=1)
![The phrase Seven-year Itch actually refers to scabies. AIthough the termhas come to describe spouses who develop a wandering eye after seven years of](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/0/2/432102.jpg?v=1)
![Considering a person to be an Adult at 21 dates back to medieval times, when people believed a man was strong enough to wear armor, at that age. Armor](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/0/9/8/432098.jpg?v=1)
![The original purpose of the Best Man was to help the groom kidnap his bride. In the Dark Ages, men would pillage their brides from neighboring communi](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/1/0/0/432100.jpg?v=1)