Sense file
How the sense moved
The archive follows the dated record first, then reads the social or rhetorical pressure that hardened, softened, narrowed, or reversed the word.
Older meaning
Causing terror.
Modern meaning
Excellent.
Research lens
A clean reversal example where intensity remained while evaluation changed sides.
Meaning trail
Root
to frighten
Its ancestry is about fear, not charm.
Older sense
terrifying
Used for frightening force or intensity.
Now
excellent
Intensity survived, but the judgment turned positive.