Extraordinary Quote by Susie Dent
“The extraordinary thing about new words is that probably only about one per cent of them are new. Most are old words revived and adapted.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Language Instinct, 2015, Linguistics
Most “new” words are actually old ones repurposed, showing language evolves by recycling.
In simple terms: New words often come from old ones.
Key Takeaway
Embrace language’s fluidity.
Themes
language evolution
lexical innovation
recycling
Mood
curious
analytical
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- writing
- teaching
- branding
Key Concepts
etymology
semantic shift
Questions to Reflect On
- What old words could be revived?
- How does word recycling affect communication?
A Different Perspective
Some truly novel words still emerge.
![“Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this [step by step, from humans to apes to monkeys to lemurs] - leading us insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures, from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/thomas-huxley-1183_animal_perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us_3051.jpg)
