Wicked

When I first moved from Massachusetts to Arizona, my new friends consistently poked fun at me for using the word "wicked" as an adjective for words such as "cool," "awesome," and "nice." To me, "very" was the intrinsic definition of the word that I used frequently. But these West Coasters rejected my version of the word and accepted the traditional definition of the word: morally corrupt or bad. This regional discrepancy has spawned my interest in understanding the origins of the word as modern slang as well as the conventional interpretation. Further, the history of the nuances of the word has sparked my curiosity; which events or writings fathered these newborn definitions? The intangible quality of the word (is anybody purely wicked? What constitutes wickedness?) bolsters its appeal. Overall, I think it is fascinating that even etymology unveils a lot about the history on a larger scope.