The word decent has changed slightly from its� original meaning.  It has however, retained a positive aspect.  The use of decent originated in France in the 15th century.   According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word decent meant �to become, or to be fitting�(1).  The Cassell�s  Dictionary of Slang states that decent means �to be fully dressed�; usually to be in the process of getting dressed, e.g. �wait a minute, I�m not decent!� or �are you decent�(321)?  In addition, decent also means to be appropriate for royalty or for people that are higher in rank or status. For example, �God teatheth what honoure is decente for the king�(OED 1).

     I, of course, have another meaning for decent.  When something is great or interesting or completely crazy, I usually use the remark �decent!�  For example, �that was rather decent!� and �did you see how decent that jump was?!�  In these examples, decent denotes excellent and in the second example decent is used to describe how crazy the jump was.  The word decent can also be used as a noun, an adjective, a verb, and an adverb.  When teenagers are using this word their body gestures are lively and full of expression.  These physical expressions help to emphasis the meaning of decent.

      Decent is just another way of saying great, super, or to describe a totally crazy stunt!  Groovy was used in the 60�s and 70�s, radical and awesome in the 80�s and cool was used after that.  Decent, is just another way of saying all of these slang terms.
 
      Decent, with the definition I place on it, should be entered into Standard American English because of its� positive and updated use of the archaic slang terms that were used above.  For example, the essay, �Who�s in charge of the English language?,� by Casey Miller and Kate Swift, states that in London in the year 1619 a school master named Alexander Gil was teaching against new words that were being introduced to replace Old English ones.   Luckily, a young man didn�t listen to the school master and ended up being the brilliant John Milton(Muller 451).  What if Milton would have listened to his teacher? We could have perhaps lost one of the greatest writers of the 17th century.  New meanings for words, such as decent, refresh our language and make it more attractive and exciting.

      Decent, according to Random House Webster�s Dictionary , means �conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, as in behavior or speech�(168). It states that decent also means respectable and adequate.  This meaning says that decent is used as a way to describe a person�s choices.  Such as, �that dress is not decent for the family dinner.�  This example exclaims that whatever the person decided to wear was not proper for the occasion or for the people that were attending the function.

      The denotation of decent has changed quite a few times.  From dealing with clothes, or being suitable for royalty; it has meant so many things to so many people.  Now, it is used in place of groovy, cool, bitchin�, radical, awesome, and great. And, I think that that is pretty decent!