I picked this word—rage—for multiple reasons. Firstly, it is a word that describes a simple emotion, anger, but to a much stronger degree. It’s a very powerful word but does not necessarily imply that the holder of the emotion has power on the same level that the word fury does. Rage also does not necessarily imply its effect on others in the way that the word wrath does. It is powerful but self-contained in a sense.
Secondly, the word rage has an interesting slang meaning. The word is one of many slang words that in its normal use is a negative thing but in its slang usage is a positive thing. Another example of this is the word sick which can imply that something is “cool.” Rage in its slang can mean one of two things to my knowledge: to party as a verb or, as a noun, something popular like a fad. Think, “It’s all the rage!” Other forms of the word have similar meanings in their slang usage. Rager can mean a particularly ruckus party. The history of its slang usage interests me and I wonder how the word evolved in that way.
Mostly, I want to see why this word evolved in the way it did. Less strong than fury or wrath but still powerful in connotation, and opposite in its slang meaning, this word is unique. Its evolution must be equally interesting.
