William Cubitt's Treadmill: The Power Of Words

Language is often seen as relatively stable; like a pillar of stone it stands the test of time. However, language is like a sapling bending and swaying under wind and the rain. Words often transform over time transforming meaning. Since the first word was uttered thousands of years ago to now, countless words have been lost and thousands have changed their meaning. The word “treadmill” is an example of a word that once stood for something completely different than what it now does. The word “treadmill” can trace its origins back to the early 19th century when the word was first used by an English engineer, Sir William Cubitt, to describe a torture device used to punish insubordinate prisoners. Sir William Cubitt’s treadmill was a revolving wooden staircase that was set about a shaft that turned a mill for grinding grain into flour. However, the treadmill can further trach it’s meaning to over 4000 years ago where it was used to lift buckets of water, power bellows, pump water, and lift heavy objects. Cubitt’s treadmill was nothing more than an adaption of ancient technology into a device that could be used for prisoner correction. Even so, Cubitt was the first to coin the term “treadmill” to describe his torture device, so this can

The fact is that most people aren’t aware how the word has changed over the years. In some aspects the word remains the same. Fore example, a treadmill is still stationary and participants are both walking in place, but a treadmill in today’s society is not considered to be a torture device. In fact, a treadmill is used to improve the fitness of those who use it. The new definition was adapted in 1913 when the first treadmill was designed and manufactured in the United States. But the treadmill was not used for fitness until the mid-1960s when it was first introduced into the consumer