He was later reincarnated as Cher from "Clueless.". But, if we were to apply such a concept to the majority of common English words today, this would result in considerable confusion; the word silly is first recorded in the sense 'pious,' nice meant 'foolish,' and buxom meant 'obedient.' We researched nine modern words and the strange histories that accompany them, also known as etymologies. (noun): a spirit distilled from malted grain, especially barley or rye. This phrase came from Middle English randon meaning "recklessness" or "speed" which entered through Old French with the same spelling, but bearing slightly different meaning. Old English wið "against, opposite, from, toward, by, near," a shortened form related to wiðer, from Proto-Germanic *withro- "against" (source also of Old Saxon withar "against," Old Norse viðr "against, with, toward, at," Middle Dutch, Dutch weder, Dutch weer "again," Gothic wiþra "against, opposite"), from PIE *wi-tero-, literally "more apart," suffixed form of *wi- "separation" (source also of Sanskrit vi "apart," Avestan vi- "asunder," Sanskrit vita… . The root meaning here is "to turn or wind" or "turned towards. The dynamic was that French was high-class and English more rudimentary. The word "robot" comes from the Czech word "robota," meaning "forced labor" — which sounds strangely like slavery. English began developing sometime between 500 and 1100 A.D from a mix spoken by tribes called the Angles, the Saxons, the Frisians, and the Jutes. I have a friend who should read your hub because his attempts at making guesses at the etymology of words can be breathtakingly funny. My God! Bugs' sarcasm just stuck. Technically, sycophant means someone who denounces someone else as a "fig-smuggler," according to Charlotte Higgins, culture-blogger at The Guardian. Eventually (somehow) this came to be used for distilled products and then finally ethanol. These tribes were from the mainland of Europe, in Western Germany and up along the lands of Denmark. Another Latin one, compute is constructed of cum (with) and putare (to think or reckon), and basically means "to count up together." (Oh! The Plague reached England in the 1350's. His caretaker at the zoo also gave him a gallon or two of whiskey every now and then. The word comes from Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, one of the most powerful biblical kings. Where Do Words Come From? ", (noun): a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer. These are all related to the early root apo-, which we see in apology, aposiopesis, apotheosis. As Cracked puts it, that's kind of like calling your friend "Einstein" after he makes a really dumb statement. It's sometimes even better to just make stuff up! The Etymological Fallacy "[T]he term etymology. Avocado (Origin: Nahuatl) 2. It’s the invisible gas that creates our atmosphere. It is a legend of Persian origin, constructed of mardya ("man") and khvar ("to eat"). Nimrod actually means a "skillful hunter." It then became the Old French term jurnal for a book containing the daily prayer schedule. Salary (Origin: Latin) 7. Or more accurately, they conquered it, razing Celt and Briton influence from the land and supplanting their own culture. This is where it gets weird. Since this dictionary went up, it has benefited from the suggestions of dozens of people I have never met, from around the world. By age 7, this pachyderm consumed 200 pounds of hay, one barrel of potatoes, two bushels of oats, 15 loaves of bread, a slew of onions, and several pails of water every day. U.K. on September 22, 2016: Matt Shaw (author) from Hatfield, Pennsylvania on September 20, 2016: Haha, that's pretty great. ", So awkward is etymologically autological. It comes from the Ancient Greek for "amber", elektron, because if you rub amber on cloth it generates static electricity. Subscriber For most of these words, I'm skipping the theoretical roots that predate recorded history. Disaster (Origin: Italian/Greek) 4. In the 1500's Alcohol may have been seen also written as alcofol. (noun): a fact or idea that serves as a guide or aid in a task or problem. flickr/j_silla This website gives a great detailed history of English, and even background. It sounds like a compliment, right? If you disobeyed the Roman army, I have some bad news for you. Based on The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the principal authority on the origin and development of English words, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology contains a wealth of information about the English language and its history. Of dire consequence, too, was The Hundred Years' War underway on France (1337 - 1453), which changed the dynamic of French in England. (noun): a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage. It was used as eye-shadow and eye-liner, and also an antiseptic. U.K. on September 20, 2016: I liked the alcohol etymological definition because I remember using kohl in my misspent youth to enhance my, already, interesting eyes. This language group is known as West Germanic, and the dominant branch spoken became West Saxon, the language in which the epic poem Beowulf is written in. Related is the antonym of nocturnal, "diurnal.". Barnum bought an elephant, named "Jumbo," from the Royal Zoological Society in London. Jeans (Origin: Italian) 6. Though strangely the word putare has an older meaning to prune. Yeah — the Romans could be pretty cruel. You won't believe how far some words have come. Find out where the words 'bungalow' and 'assassin' came from, what 'nice' meant in the Middle Ages and much more. It then came to include other written records, but retained its "daily" implication. The site has become a favorite resource of teachers of reading, spelling, and English as a second language. Random is contracted from the phrase at random, which we know was used in the 1560s. Between George Bush and the Internet, the English language is changing at an alarming rate. The -ward suffix comes from the Old English -weard, which means "turned toward." Journal comes to us from the Late Latin diurnalis meaning "daily." It's a tangled web, but I wanted to give you an idea of the main channels of the language. Etymonline for Chrome: Skip the home page. Accurate. Back in day, pirates used to sell "fawney," basically British slang for fake gold rings. It comes from the Gaelic uisge beatha (this is not written how it sounds) which means "water of life". This mythical beast entered English as the Latin manticora, from Greek martichora. The orgin is al-kohl (كحل), literally, "the [antimony sulfide powder we use for that stuff]". "A treasure (from the Greek ‘thesauros’, treasure, store or storehouse) trove (past participle of an Anglo-Norman verb meaning ‘to find’) of verbal wonders" – William Hartston, Daily Express Combining both accessibility and authority, The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins describes the origins and development of over 3,000 words and phrases in the English language. I propose we un-complicate the story and rename them "testicle fruit. A roundup of uplifting stories about everyday heroes. This Norman invasion decreased the popularity of English, which experienced a bit of a lull in the 1100's and 1200's. More recently, through trading and exploration are Italian, Arabic, Indian, and Spanish. The Old French seems closer to "disorder," "force," and "rush". Apparently, a sassy British admiral John Arbuthnot "Jacky" Fisher wrote in his memoir, " I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis—O.M.G. Amber forms from very old sap that hardens over time. "A full list of print sources used in this compilation can be found here. Anything can happen when you add a buccaneer's accent. . Greek was always a huge influence. So if you're really obsessive you may be found sitting across from the target of your interest, leaning in, creepily awaiting their next move. (noun): a pear-shaped fruit with a rough leathery skin, smooth oily edible flesh, and a large stone, The word for avocado comes from the Aztec word, "ahuacatl," which means testicle. This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Through centuries of mispronunciation, English arrived at "assassin.". In 1880, P.T. Ah, the Vikings! Members of a fanatical Muslim sect during the Crusades used to smoke hashish and then murder leaders on the opposing side. Watch out, because manticores eat you whole and leave no evidence behind.