Cool: Origin and travels of cool.

         The word cool can be used as a literal meaning in Standard English or it can be used in its most recognized form of slang.  For the most part, I use the slang terminology in every day conversation.  The only time I choose not to use the word cool in the slang context is when around elders or in formal settings, such as interviews or public speaking.  Even though its meaning has changed over time, cool has had a long history, and will continue its existence in the future.

        Cool can be used in a variety of different ways depending on whether it is used as a noun, adjective, or a verb in the sentence.  As a noun, it can be used to mean a treaty between two groups.  For example, the sentence �A cool was talked about between the two fighting countries.�  Cool can be used as an adjective to describe the state of temperature.  In the sentence, �The air has a cool and bitter feeling to it�, cool is used as an adjective to describe the air�s feeling. Cool�s verb form comes from the phrase �cool it� which means to settle down or relax.  For example, a mother would use this to tell her child to stop misbehaving by saying, �Cool it Justin�.  When I heard my mom say this, I knew she meant it.  For the definition aspect of it, I consulted a dictionary. According to Webster�s Dictionary, the word cool has many different meanings depending on the way it is used in context.  In the dictionary cool is used to describe the condition of being cold, composed, showing dislike, and calmly bold (Webster�s, 98).  For the most part, Webster has done a good job defining the word cool.

        The reason I chose the word cool is because I have used it since the third grade.  I can remember building a fort with my friends, when one of them said, �This is cool.� Some got it, but the rest of us could not understand why building a fort was cold.  I ended up asking my friend why he said that.  Ever since then, the word cool, for me, has been used to state that you have a strong like for a particular subject or occasion, and how popular a person is. After that day, the word cool has been an integral word in my vocabulary.

        According to the Oxford English Dictionary, cool came in to existence in the year
 of 1000.  Guthlac, in which he used the expression Lic colode, wrote the first documented case of the term cool  (Oxford English Dictionary).  He used cool as an adjective to describe the cooling of the temperature.  Along with Gughlac, Andreas used cool to describe the temperature of the weather, which is used to this very date by regular people or professional forecasters (OED).  For forecasters, the word cool is a very integral part of their vocabulary. If it is going to be about 45 degrees out, forecasters will refer to that temperature as cool.

        As evidenced by the Oxford English Dictionary, cool took on a new meaning which meant, �To lose the heat of excitement, passion, or emotion� (OED).  Many examples were derived from the great Shakespeare himself.  He used the word cool in such works as Julius Caesar and Macbeth (OED).  For instance in Macbeth, Shakespeare uses cool in the sentence �This deed Ile do, before this purpose coole� to describe losing the heat of the excitement, passion, and emotion (OED).  Shakespeare used this definition for cool in a lot of his plays. Today this particular meaning has stayed true.  An example of this particular definition can be witnessed in the phrase  �cooling down�.  This phrase is typically used after a yelling match or fight.  This expression means that they settled down and began to think rationally.

        Cool added yet another definition to its list by taking on a new meaning of �To become cold with fear� (OED).  The only example given by the Oxford English Dictionary is by Shakespeare again.  He uses cool�s new form in the sentence � The time has beene, my sences would have cool�d To heare a Night-shrieke� (OED).  This means that this particular person heard a howl of some sort, and became petrified or filled with fear.  With all my experiences with the definitions of cool, I have never seen or heard of this particular meaning.

        �To make cool; to cause to lose heat or become less hot� was added as one of cool�s definitions in 1490 (OED).  In this verb form, Sir B. Brodie used this to describe how weather phenomena caused the atmosphere to cool down (OED).  Many instructions use this meaning.  For example after welders get done welding an object, they will let it sit for a while, and let it become less hot.   Or an auto-mechanic would say, �Let it cool down� meaning that it is extremely hot and should sit for a period of time.
In the 1700�s, cool took on a new meaning that did not survive very long.  Cool meant to �deprive (a thing) of its opportuneness or freshness of interest; to make stale� (OED).  Thyer used this definition in his book Byrom�s Rem through the sentence � You are come too late, the thing is cooled (OED).  This definition of the word cool does not fit Webster�s American Dictionary in any way, shape, or form.  Cool lost this meaning shortly after it was introduced, because it confused a lot of people.  Remember cool still meant a light cold.

        After some research, I found out that cool even meant a truce between gangs (OED).  This definition came into use in the late 1950�s.  Salisbury used the sentence, � A cool was negotiated by street club workers� in his book Shook-Up Generation (OED).  Most people have no idea that cool has that aspect to it, because it is rarely used.

        In most cases, cool has mostly been used to describe the temperature of weather, or state of emotion of a particular person or event.  Cool took on a new meaning that had to do with particular colors in paintings.  According to artists or anyone who has been educated in the field, cool is used to describe the colors blue, green, and purple.  One of the main reasons that these colors are refereed to as cool colors is because they remind you of pleasant things.  For example when you see blue, the ocean comes to mind.
 Cool�s definition is closely related to the word phat.   Phat has only two definitions.  One is a very strong like or attraction to another person or object.  The other is not acceptable for the class.  Phat�s definitions, like cool, are mostly slang and in the adjective form.  I first heard this word at college, when I overheard someone say, � �that car is phat.�  When I heard this, I felt like I have been too secluded from the rest of the world. Where I come from, the only terminology I heard was farming slang.  After a little investigation, I found that the word started out at college campuses.  Phat and cool are pretty much interchangeable. They both mean to have a strong like.

        Another word that comes to mind that resembles cool is the word bomb.  Bomb has both literal and slang meanings.  In the literal sense, which is in the noun form, bomb is defined as an explosive, where as in the slang form it means a strong like or attraction.  The slang form is mostly associated with being an adjective.  Bomb is a fairly recent trend in America.  I have even heard my little sister using it.  I remember eating dinner with my parents, and my Dad asked my sister how her day went.  She said, � It was the bomb dad.�  I could swear I saw my dad start to choke.  He, my mom, and myself never heard the word used before.  After that night, I noticed the word being used more and more.  It seems that phat and bomb are replacing cool.

        The word stink contrasts cool in many ways.  Stink can be used as a literal or slang meaning.  In the literal sense, stink means that someone or something has a distinctively bad smell to it.  In the slang context, stink means that some thing is bad in character.  For example, you might hear a person say � That really stinks that you got in a wreak.�  Cool has no definitions that fit this bill.  No where can cool replace stink in that sentence.

         Another word that contrasts cool is beat.  Again, beat has its Standard English and slang definitions.  In it�s literal form, beat means to hit someone or something with extreme force.  The slang meaning has been particularly used in high school and college atmospheres.  You might hear a teenager say �You got in trouble?  That�s beat.�  He or she means that it is really unfortunate that you got into trouble.  Like stink, beat contradicts what cool�s meaning is.

         As evidenced by this paper, cool first meant the cooling of the temperature.  Cool then manifested into many areas, because people realized the similarities between the temperature decreasing and a decrease in a person�s aggressiveness.  As scholars and writers noticed this similarity, they began to implement this into their language and writings.  With the arrival of this new meaning of the word cool, writers then began to use it in various writings.

         If Standard English dictionaries have necessities such as being a noun, adjective, verb, and having various definitions, then my definition of cool should be admitted to all dictionaries, because it fits all the basics.  Cool contains all these elements.  Also it should be admitted because how long it has been used.  Therefore, by having all these qualities and its clear persistence throughout time, it should be admitted into the Standard English dictionaries.

        Cool arrived around the year of 1000 where it meant cooling of the temperature.  After some time it evolved to mean to lose heat of excitement.  This was the first form of slang.  With some tweaking, cool added a new definition, which meant to become cold with fear.  In the 1700�s, cool meant to deprive a thing of its opportuneness.  One of the most recent meanings was added in the 1950�s.   This meaning meant a truce between two fighting gangs.  Even art has meaning for the word cool, which means particular colors in paint. With all this in hand, one can see that it should be admitted into a Standard English.  Many words compare to cool such as the bomb, or phat.  Also many contrast it such as stink, or beat.  With all the various definitions and meanings of the word cool, many people have used it.  For example my parents, my professors, and even the great Shakespeare himself used it.  This word has been around for quite some time.  It will be interesting to see what it develops into next, or even if it will continue its very existence.

Justin Crowe