Funny how words and phrases can shift on you.
Merriam-Webster dates the term "new wave" to 1960. They don't seem to have a reason to lie about that. For now I'm not going to go into the question of when Merriam does have reason to lie about something. But assuming this point of etymology to be accurate, the phrase dates to the time of the French Nouvelle Vague, i.e. Truffaut, Godard, etc.
Then there's new wave music. New wave rock became a current term in 1977 when it became apparent that punk itself wasn't going to make commercial inroads, at least not in America. It remained in use until about halfway through the 80s. Not necessarily referring to the same thing, though. I love Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. Duran Duran and A Flock of Seagulls are also fun. But the latter two were not doing what the former two did. The culture had changed, with language hard pressed to catch up.
"New wave" was used up to 1984 to describe new music. After that it faded out. But currently a lot of people assume that any popular music from the decade that wasn't rap, hair metal, or heartland rock must be new wave. Time monkeys with words and concepts too.
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That was an excellent overview of the term 'new wave'. Another that comes to mind is the historical background of 'new age' - a wiki search can provide some entertaining diversion.
I've definitely had thoughts about how words and phrases have changed their common meanings over the years, many that are funny when considered in context:
How about 'Let's wear our thongs to the beach!' - say no more.
Or 'text' which used to be a noun and now it's a verb, which also means message, which is also a verb'.
'Sick' and 'ill' - both of which used to mean infirm, but now mean good.
'Computer' and 'calculator' are words that used to refer to people.
Back to your original point about 'New Wave' having been redefined over the course of a century. It's true. Many terms have been simplified as they've been popularized but I think for a number of people the added meanings may enhance their sense of how language changes over time - like it or not. As you said, 'Time monkeys with words and concepts too'.
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