From: utzoo!decvax!microsof!uw-beave!jim
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Title: Re: Surprising words
Article-I.D.: uw-beave.338
Posted: Fri Feb 11 08:17:22 1983
Received: Sat Feb 12 05:14:58 1983
References: iheds.205

George Otto lists examples of words whose meanings have been reversed
(obversed?) by usage, leading to confusion or surprise, words such as
"decimate."

One of my favorites is "comprise".  Originally it meant "to include" or
"to be composed of", but recent usage has turned it into a synonym for
"compose", as in "The computer is comprised of a processor, memory, and
peripherals".