Questão 96660

The process of semantic change illustrates how the meanings of words evolve over time. One such process is 'pejoration,' where a word's meaning shifts to become more negative. An example is the word 'silly,' which originally meant 'happy' or 'blessed' in Old English and gradually acquired its modern meaning of 'foolish.' Conversely, 'amelioration' is the process where a word's meaning becomes more positive. Which of the following words is a classic example of amelioration in the history of the English language, having evolved from a negative or neutral meaning to a positive one?