Intelligence is a pretty old world. It’s been around since the 14th century, meaning exactly what it does now. And even the secondary meaning–“information gathered, especially by spies”–dates back to the 1580s. I found this pretty surprising.
As I’m doing research for a spy novel set centuries ago, I’m paying close attention to all this stuff, and this one jumped out at me. Especially because General Washington often referred to his spies as “intelligencers,” a word I just love (though Spell Check sure doesn’t!)
It’s not often we find a word that hasn’t changed its meaning so fully over the course of 700 years!
And that’s apparently all the intelligence I can muster on a Monday morning before even a whiff of coffee. Hope your day is full of it! 😉
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Amazing how some words have meanings that shift-shape every decade, and some-hopefully-will always stay the same.
Little known fact: (not that anyone cares–yet! lol) I use to want to be a detective (among the other ambitions). I didn't know back then I'd be writing "intelligence" novels. 🙂
Love these word posts.
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