“Mead”

an alcoholic liquor made by fermenting a mixture of honey and water, is a word that has been
inherited from the Germanic culture. The Anglo-Saxons saw mead as a status of wealth and
power. From this one word, many derivatives have been created through the years, from Old
English to modern day. The earliest text with mead in it is found in 66 C. E. in a riddle, aptly
named Riddle 20 with an unknown author, "Cyningne wyrneð wordlofes, wisan mæneð mine
for mengo, þær hy meodu drincað." The use of the term can be found in all forms of literary
genres, from Beowulf in 604 C. E. to an autobiography of Mary Delany in 1747.
While studying the history of the use of the word, etymologist we're able to see how
mead was not only a safe beverage to drink but also how it informed us of the intricacies of
Anglo-Saxon culture, through poetry, stories, and riddles. A medu-burh was what they called
their community or village and it would be a place famous for those who would come and drink
mead. The warrior would visit the meduheall (mead-hall) or meduseld (mead-house) – which
was a building in which mead was produced, kind of like are modern day bars. They would get
there by traversing along a medustíg (path to the mead-hall) through the meduwang (land
surrounding the meadhall).

There was even a mead vocabulary once you entered the mead-hall. The place to sit was
called a medubenc (mead-bench) though this turn of phrase is only used in reference to the
early Middle Ages in Western Europe. Once you sat down you could engage in medudrinc
(mead-drinking) with a meduscenc (mead-cup). After drinking a significant amount of mead you
would become happy with medudréam (mead-joy, but drinking too much mead would leave
you meduwérig (drunk on mead). Mead began to die off as the drink of choice in the Middle
Ages when the aristocrats and royalty began to drink wine, delegating mead as a drink for those
who were n...
 “Nigger”

"My niggas. Some niggas that you don't wanna try.

My niggas. Some niggas that's really do or die.
My niggas. Ain't no longer living a lie.
My niggas is stong. My niggas is real."
Does this artist use the word nigger in the same way that racists have and
still are? The answer to this question is a simple one- no. Today's urban society
have changed, not only the definition, but also the spelling of this word, which
was once used to belittle those of African-American decent. Now, the definition
as proved through today's urban youth holds many denotations- positive and
negative. But has the definition really changed? Or are today's urban society just
being ignorant and socially blinded by the hardships of our ancestors as they
continue to use a word that held such great racial tension when used in the
1800's? Two answers for this one- yes and no. Yes the definition has changed, but
not totally to where it's precedent has been forgotten. In fact, urban youth are so
socially powerful that they can take a word and totally flip it and use it within
themselves but when one of another race uses it, they return it back to the old
definition and the racial remarks commence.
The definitions of the word nigger are as follows:
2. loosely or incorrectly applied to members of dark-skinned race
3. a vulgar offensive term of hostility and contempt as used by
Negrophobes
1. Latin niger becomes Spanish and Portugese Negro used in France for
"black man" especially in Africa adapted by the English
2. latin niger, for black, occurs in such river names as the Rio Negro in
South America and the Niger f Central West Africa.
When used by a white person to describe a black or African American
person, this can be the most hateful hurtful, offensive term in the language today.
This word in American speech dates back to the late 16th century, although the
modern spelling doesn...