757: Sophisticate and Adulterate Jan 3, 2017

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Just by luck, certain words get used less than others, lose definitions, or have more-used forms. 'Sophisticate' is the verb from which the participle, 'sophisticated' is create, but at its most frequently used, in 1968, it only accounted for around 0.00001% of all words used, meanwhile in 1987, 'sophisticated' accounted for more than 0.00212%. Likewise 'adulterate', compared to 'adultery', has existed in a similar shadow. Perhaps fittingly, both verbs have historically had quite similar senses, and until 'adultery' replaced the earlier, 'avoutrie', the verbs were more or less interchangeable. For more on 'sophisticated' and its change in meaning over time, click this link.

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