Sometimes a word's archaic meaning is embedded in its modern definition like a fossil in a rock.

When you hear, for instance, that golfers are addressing the ball, you might assume they're speaking to the ball. (Actually, golfers sometimes DO speak to the ball, though not everything they say is printable here.)

But in golf, address has a special meaning: to adjust and aim the club before swinging. This sporty definition of "address" provides a clue to one of the word's now-obsolete meanings: to direct the aim of. So we've found a missing link on the links!

Ever wonder why weather predictors are called meteorologists? After all, they foretell rain showers, not meteor showers. No offense to your favorite forecasters, but they're all fossils.

In fact, "meteor" was once a general term for any atmospheric phenomenon, including rain, snow and, yes, meteors. "Meteorology" derives from the Greek "meteoron," which meant "something in the sky." Back then, rain was an aqueous meteor, winds and storms were airy meteors and streaks of light in the sky were fiery meteors. This general use of "meteor" survives in "meteorology."

Likewise, the terms "coxswain" and "boatswain" reveal the original meaning of "swain." While today "swain" means a country lad or beau, it once meant a servant. So a coxswain was a servant on a small boat, once called a "cok," and a boatswain was a servant on a larger boat.

As long as we're afloat, the term "bridge" for the command post on a ship first arose on steamboats with a paddle wheel on each side. A bridge was built across the deck, enabling the captain to walk easily between the two wheels to inspect them.

Another fossil is embedded in the nautical term "gangplank," and, no, I don't mean there's a trilobite in the walkway. You might assume this movable bridge is named for the gangs of people who cross it. But, in fact, it comes from an early meaning of "gang" — a road or way.

This definition also survives in the common expression "Gangway!" meaning "clear the passage!" People shout "Gangway!" just as runners shout "Track!" — and a lot of other golfers' words — when someone is standing in their path.

Now that I've disabused you of the notion that "gangplank" is related to a crowd of people, let's consider the fossil word "disabuse," meaning to free from a falsehood or misconception.

An early meaning of the verb "abuse" was "to deceive." Thus to disabuse people of an idea is to "un-deceive" them. I abuse you not!

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Pisit Heng at Unsplash