Word watching 1 Wicked

I recently came across some articles I did for Grace magazine a few years ago on words. I thought I made brush them up and place them here adn may be even try my hand at some more.

The word wicked appears many times in our English Bibles. It translates a range of Hebrew words in the Old Testament and three or four Greek words in the New Testament. It will not surprise you to learn that in every case the words have negative connotations.

The word wicked was probably a dialect word before the 13th century and finds its roots in the once forgotten Old English word, Wicca. The latter is the male form of Wicce from which (!) our word witch comes. Thus wicked originally meant bewitched. It has an affinity to the word cursed in that way. It came to refer to anything evil, depraved or corrupt and that is how most people understand it today. The witchcraft element has been all but completely forgotten.

It is a common word and this has led to a weakening of its power as an adjective. However, in the last twenty years or so it has been further weakened in the UK by the introduction of a slang usage, documented in most newer dictionaries, where the word has a positive and complimentary tone. (In New England it simply means extremely, really or very, context deciding whether very good or bad). Most of us are aware of this by now and those who work with young people have long learned to take care. Preachers also need to remember the alternative meaning as although young people know both meanings they often find it difficult to disassociate the word from its positive sense. The preacher who says ‘We are all wicked’ is in danger of giving the impression, at least to some, that he is praising the congregation rather than condemning it.

It is generally accepted that the slang usage began as ‘Jive talk’ popular among mainly African American jazz musicians in the middle of this century. They would speak, for example, of a ‘Wicked horn player’ meaning a saxophonist of great dexterity. Etymologically that parallels an older more mainstream expression wizard, as in ‘He’s a wizard on the keyboards’. This rich expression suggests initiation into an occult though not necessarily evil world where he has gained mastery of his instrument. It is more likely, however, that the use of wicked and similarly bad (‘This is a really bad tune’) as positive terms grew out of the abuse often heaped on jazz musicians, especially people of colour. If jazz music is held to be wicked music then, by definition, the better the music to the ears of those who appreciate it then the more bad or wicked to those that do not.

From the world of jive talk to that of popular music is a short step. The late Michael Jackson’s 1987 album Bad sold millions. Of course, the double meaning of the word is important here and has been exploited by many others. It is at this point that Isaiah 5:20 is most relevant, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. The word passed to the other electronic media, most notably the world of football commentating. A wicked left foot is one that harms opponents in regard to their chances of winning but that is most desirable from the other team’s point of view. From here the word has passed into general usage in youth culture and beyond.

If there is a Satanic plot afoot here our enemy still has a long way to go. If he does succeed it will not be the first time. The word silly once meant holy! We have coped with that change and as long as we are aware of what is going on there is no reason why we should not be able to cope with this one either.