Is there a term for when a word is co-opted and converted into a derogatory variant of the original term?
For instance, "OCD" is defined as:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry; by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety; or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning; repeated checking; extreme hoarding; preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts; relationship-related obsessions; aversion to particular numbers; and nervous rituals, such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room.
But if you actually hear the term OCD it is almost always in a context similar to:
Lol, I always organize my library alphabetically. I'm so OCD…
I organize things by color. OCD, I guess.
This cultural redirection has very little to do with actual OCD but it is an incredibly popular usage.
The term I am looking for would fit into the following sentence:
OCD originally referred to a serious anxiety disorder but was [word] into a description roughly meaning "appreciates order and organization."
The reason I mention it being "derogatory" is because most of the time I hear this alternative usage it is a self-derogatory manner or somehow poking fun at a self-consciousness around the (not actually OCD) behavior.
Other terms I have heard get used this way:
- retarded — originally a description of someone's IQ but now a blanket description for any foolish or stupid thing
- ADD/ADHD — originally a diagnosis around having severe concentration problems but became a blanket description for anyone that could become distracted
- dyslexia — originally a learning disorder focused on learning to read but became a description of isolated instances of spelling errors
This is somewhat related to How do words become derogatory or politically incorrect? but I'm looking for a very different word.
Best Answer
I think you are referring to the phenomenon of semantic drift, a change in meaning of a word over the course of time.
In the particular examples you describe the semantic change would take the form of semantic broadening or generalization. This is of course the commonest type of change. So your blank could be filled with broadened or generalized.
There is a wikipedia article which lists the various types of semantic change. In a more convenient form I think the changes can be considered under the following categories:
Generalization
Narrowing
Degeneration/Pejoration
Amelioration/Elevation
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Metonymy
Synechdoche