332: sophisticated Nov 5, 2015

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'Sophisticated' has changed meaning over time. In late Middle English, this word meant ‘adulterated’ (adjectivally) and (verbally) ‘mix with a foreign substance’. In medieval Latin, 'sophisticatus' meant ‘tampered with’. The shift of denotation of the word probably occurred first in the adjective, 'unsophisticated', changing from ‘uncorrupted’ from ‘innocent’ to ‘inexperienced, uncultured’.

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