How <em>Canceled</em> Reached Peak Semantic Power
The metaphorical crossing-out dates back to antiquity.
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English rejuvenates itself by investing words that have been around forever with new shades of meaning on an as-needed basis. The history of a word’s journey through the language—its etymology—can read like a character’s narrative on a TV show. Maybe they were introduced as a minor character in Season 1, but). Such is the case with , which began in antiquity as the name for a small architectural feature but now reigns in internet discourse as .
