On one topic, word histories are in complete accord. People who lived in forests - sylvan - were savages or wild. They were barbarous, pagan, untamed. A great many words we use today have this sense at their heart. By contrast, those in villages, towns or cities were sophisticated, as seen in terms like urban, urbane and suburb. Strictly speaking, sophisticated means no longer natural or, in Ancient Greece, one who pays for instruction. The notion is, humans in large groups become civilized and cultured, except, of course, in Boston. I got to thinking about all this because of the way I described a coworker - using a word that was uncharitable, but spot on.
© 2024 John Oliver
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