Words have a knack for shape-shifting over time, sliding along a spectrum from precise to all-encompassing. The word ‘thing,’ for instance, once denoted a gathering of legislators; now it is a chameleon word, fitting happily into any context imaginable. Linguists term this shift ‘semantic bleaching’ or grammaticalization: vivid hues are drained away, leaving a word faint and abstract. Conversely, there is ‘semantic narrowing’ or lexicalization–a process surely deserves a more vibrant term. ‘Tinting’ or ‘coloring,’ perhaps would paint a better picture of how some words can gain rather than lose substance over time.

The word ‘deliver,’ to give another example, has undergone a fascinating evolution, demonstrating successive waves of semantic change.

In Late Latin, deliberare was a robust verb, denoting the freeing of slaves. But as the word journeyed through Middle English and Medieval French, it shed specificity, embracing a broader meaning of ‘release’ or ‘remove.’ Gradually, it was then whittled down to mean ‘hand over,’ as echoed in the ‘Stand and deliver!’ cry of 18^th century highwaymen about their felonious deeds.

Medieval usage was, however, both substantive and diverse. The verb encompassed ‘throwing’ in military contexts and was even extended to the field of midwifery—’deliver a baby.’ Concurrently, it found a place in oratory, with ‘deliver a speech,’ ‘deliver a sermon,’ or ‘deliver a message.’ And it is notable that all of these senses, like that of Biblical redemption—’Deliver us from evil’—endure to this day.

The modern sense of ‘delivering a letter or a package,’ however, only began to emerge with the advent of postal services in the 18th century. Evolving from the highwayman’s ‘hand over’ and the orator’s ‘presentation,’ it gained a more specific context—the successful transfer of items through a communication network. Postmen and delivery boys bringing letters and parcels now appeared on the scene.

In contemporary times, ‘deliver’ has been bleached (perhaps whitewashed) again in business jargon to mean simply ‘produce.’ It is often found in slogans that lack any real substance—“This government promises to deliver!” It just means ‘get things done.’

More recent trends, however, suggest a new twist. Use of the term ‘deliverable’ as a noun has surged in the past few years, in line with a growing general tendency towards employing adjectives as nouns. While still steeped in business jargon, ‘deliverable’ emphasizes tangible outcomes, contrasting with the vague intransitive use of the verb. This perhaps signifies a refreshing new focus on substance and content, in an epoch still stifling under so much hype and hot air.

Foto de Nathan Lemon na Unsplash