Modern
Current, superior, or Western — often the latter.
How We Say It
MOD·urn
Where It Comes From
Late Latin modernus — of the present time. From modo — just now, recently. The word is only about recency — modern means now. Its association with progress, Western development, and superiority to the past are cultural assumptions layered on top.
How It's Been Used
'Modernization' became development policy language in the mid-20th century — implying a single path from traditional to modern that all societies should follow. Critics noted this path looked remarkably like the Western industrialized one. The word still carries assumptions about whose present counts as the standard.