When did words lose their true meaning and completely used for a whole other definition and use? Ex. Decadent?

Such as when I watch a Red Lobster commercial and it says Try our ';Decadent'; Scampi.





Decadent means rotten, decay, deterioration. Not sinful or forbidden desires; indulgence.





If look at the commercial knowing the actual definition of decadent, these ad promoters are saying Red Lobster serves up ';rotten, decayed'; scampi! Mmm, delicious.





Anyone else notice the lack of understanding definition of words nowadays? Sure word bastardization has always been around, but rarely does anyone ever bring it out into the limelight.When did words lose their true meaning and completely used for a whole other definition and use? Ex. Decadent?
That always bugs me too.





It's supposed to imply extravagant to the extreme, which it isn't anyway.





JWhen did words lose their true meaning and completely used for a whole other definition and use? Ex. Decadent?
The reason people misuse such words as decadent is rooted in popular usage. Since the advent of communism in Russia and the Second World countries of the Eastern Block formed that political belief their sole raison d'etre was to,ultimately, defeat 'Capitalism', a term they contrived to describe the 1st World countries of Europe, N America, Australasia and Japan. It was the contention that society in these areas had become 'decayed' by the over indulgence gained from their, comparative, wealthy lifestyles and thus the term 'decadent' was introduced to describe such a lifestyle. Nowadays it is (misused) used to describe something luxurious and self indulgent and, as you quite rightly say, not used in it's true literal sense.
All words change meaning eventually even if it is over hundreds of years. In fact, I bet if you look up half the words you used in your question, you'll see that they meant something different originally. It is human nature to use language in new, creative ways.





For example, your last word is ';limelight.'; Originally, it had to do with using lime for stage lighting. Then about 50 years after that, it came to mean the center of public attention or notice. The way you are using it seems to be even a bit different since I don't think this topic of bastardization of language is likely to ever be the center of public attention. Currently, that's what we have celebrities and politicians for ;).





Is this the bastardization you mean, and if so, how did that happen over the history of this word's use? That will explain the process since it's the same with most words. The answer to when is since man started using language.





Take care!
Actually, it's usually used to indicate the decline or decay of society into self-indulgence and amoral hedonism. Its connotations are all mental and moral; hence the link- they're boasting of how indulgent their food is. In fact, I've never seen it used in relation to corporeal decay- can I ask where you heard the word in a different context?





Not that language change and evolution doesn't happen- it's a constant and natural process, and as all language is arbitrary, a word's acquired meaning is no less 'valid' or 'correct' than its original. Think how boring literature would be if everyone had to stick to the strict, received meaning of words.
It also means marked by or providing unrestrained gratification, or self-indulgent. Words acquire new meanings over time. English is a very fluid language, which is why we all love it enough to hang out in the ';Words %26amp; Wordplay'; category.
Decadent was obviously totally inappropriate, but some of them are descriptive, like Death by Chocolate, obscene wealth etc.
actually,alternate definitions thru widespread use are recognized