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Origin of Phrases - A
Attitude
According to the Dictionary of Etymology, ATTITUDE is a French word dates back to 1695. The French took it from the Italian word "attitudine," which meant fitness or disposition (attitudine was itself taken from the Late Latin word "aptitudinem"). The following is a direct quote: "Originally a technical term in the fine arts, the term was extended to mean posture of the body implying a mental state (1725), and manner of acting representative of a mental state (1837), introducing the phrase attitude of mind (1862)."
Cassell's Dictionary of Slang takes it a step further: "From the 1960s: One's whole posture towards society, its rules and one's own place among them. [the assumption is that an attitude is hostile to the prevailing establishment status quo, although it may well fit happily into the complementary rebellious teenage standpoint. The meaning shifted slightly from 1970-80s, negative, antisocial, to 1990s, haughty, pretentious]."