Ms. Almontaser then offered what she described as a lengthy explanation about the evolution of the word and the "negative connotation" it had developed because of the Arab-Israeli struggle.
Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan G.O.P. chairman who ran for the party's national chairmanship this year, seriously suggested in April that Republicans should stop calling Obama a socialist because "it no longer has the negative connotation it had 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago".
Shorn of its imperial connotations, it has become the supreme focus for domestic patriotism.
It wasn't until the 1960s, for example, that the term "holocaust," which used to mean any large-scale massacre, took on the specific connotations it has today.
The issue is complicated by the swastika's history in India and other parts of Asia, where it has none of the connotations it has in the West.
Despite being a performance poet, Massiah prefers to distance himself from the title of spoken word artist, in part down to the connotations it has.
The American connotation that it has is nice too, although that's not the main reason why I chose it.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Wolf said: "'Remix' has the connotation that it has to have a big drop, but I don't treat it like, 'This needs a dance beat'".
It's a quality that normally carries negative connotations, but it has served Apple well.
