Looks like words literally meaning ‘frightening’ can’t keep that meaning for long if they’re used too often. Too bad there’s no way to tell a priori whether the new meaning will be ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’. (Italian too has a few words which etymologically look like they mean ‘frightening’ but actually mean ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’.)
Looks like words literally meaning ‘frightening’ can’t keep that meaning for long if they’re used too often. Too bad there’s no way to tell a priori whether the new meaning will be ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’. (Italian too has a few words which etymologically look like they mean ‘frightening’ but actually mean ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’.)