“Green” you deserve a gold star for your neologistical transformation

A word can have many definitions. Its meaning also evolves and changes as the cultures who use them do. Slang words come and go out of the pop culture. Words take on new meaning as the world around it expands. A simple example of one such neologism (new meaning for an existing word) would be the word “mouse”. Who would have thought to name the palm sized clicker your moving around after a furry little rodent. (also don’t they go “squeak, squeak”, not “click, click”. Moving on…. Words can be defined hundreds of ways. For example “set” has 464 definitions in the Oxford Dictionary. On its way there, a word that has lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) running out of room for more entries is “Green”. Its a verb, its a noun, its an adjective, no its GREEN. This word is an antonym to itself. If you are looking Green, you are sick to your stomach (entry 7a). Yet it also represents fresh and lushness (entry 2a). If an employee is new and poor in knowledge, they may be considered Green (9a). Yet it’s the color of money and prosperity. An additional entry that’s received so much press it may be lined up for its own star on Hollywood Blvd. “Green”. Sorry Paris, it received more Google hits.

Main Entry: 1 green
10 a often capitalized : relating to or being an environmentalist political movement b: concerned with or supporting environmentalism c: tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)

The association of being Green in the sense Merriam-Webster defines hasn’t always been considered the hip, posh way to go. Poor 10a received the stereotype of something more like tree hugging do gooding patchouli wearing hippies, etc. etc. Those tree huggers have not left their precious green in the 60’s. They found Green in being Green. “Green is the new black”. Green people today wear free trade organic clothing, they drive cars that don’t use up the kids college fund to get to and from work, they video conference and save the flights for the real important trips, like vacations, they’ve found balance. Balance of enjoying what the world has to offer by making sure it is here for the next generation.

The neologism for the Green of old is now the Green of:
efficiency,
resourcefulness,
effectiveness,
ingenuity,
energy efficient,
cost saving,
socially responsible.

Have an addition to the list? Post us what you think.