We’ve Moved
Etymology Of The Day has now moved to a new location on the web. We’re still posting etymologies every day, over on TUMBLR. Come visit.
Etymology Of The Day has now moved to a new location on the web. We’re still posting etymologies every day, over on TUMBLR. Come visit.
1066 CE: Anglo-Norman In 1066 the Normans (what is now Northern France) invaded England and took over, they brought their language with them and created a language called ‘Anglo-Norman’ which was a sort of mix of Old English and Old French, but they had trouble making it stick, it was mostly spoken by the ruling…
400 CE: Latin The Roman empire grew and spread from Italy between 100 and 400 CE taking Latin with it, the Romans took an interesting approach to culture – everyone should be Roman, so Latin was really pressed upon the British people during the Roman occupation. Again religion played a part, this time it was…
1500 BCE: Greek In around 1500 BCE The Greeks were inventing the alphabet – it wasn’t the first written language of course, but it was the first that used the system of consonants and vowel sounds that we use today. The word alphabet actually comes from Alpha Beta – the first two letters of the…
Our story starts with Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language, proto meaning ‘original’ – as in prototype; as the name suggests, it was the common tongue from which all modern Indian and European languages came. It was spoken in around 4500 BCE. The language was a lot more basic than what we have now and there were far…
Machine – An apparatus using mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task. The word ‘machine’ dates back to the 1540s, it came across from French, where the word meant the same as it does today. ‘Machine’ is derived from the Latin word ‘machina’ meaning ‘machine’…
Mace – A heavy club with a spiked metal head. The word ‘mace’ comes from Old French and is originally derived from the Latin word ‘mateola’ which meant ‘Mallet’.
Macabre – Disturbing because concerned with or causing a fear of death. Macabre is derived from the Latin word ‘Maccabees’ – who were the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea in around 164 BCE (Maccabee was a family name). The Greeks thought they were pretty horrid and used the phrase…
Lunatic is actually from the Latin ‘lunaticus’, with ‘luna’ meaning ‘moon’ and ‘ticus’ meaning ‘struck’, giving us ‘moon-struck’. Referring to perceived periodic changes of mental stability of the mentally ill, in line with the phases of the moon. The word travelled through 13th century French as ‘lunatique’ to become ‘lunatic’ today.
Loophole: Is made up of ‘Loop’, which actually originates in the Latin ‘loupa’, later ‘loupe’ in middle English, which meant a small window. And ‘hole’, which comes from the proto-Indo-European (PIE) word ‘kel’, which later became ‘hul’ in early German and ‘hohl’ in modern German. Today loophole is used to mean an almost unnoticeable hole…
Ketchup has a fairly recent etymology but has still come a long way in that short time. The word comes from a 17th century Chinese term ‘kê-chiap’ meaning ‘Brine’ and referred to a sauce made from pickled fish and spices. 18th century British explorers visiting the region brought the term (and the sauce) to England…
Christmas: The annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus, celebrated on the 25th of December. The word ‘Christmas’ can be traced to the old English word ‘Crīstesmæsse’, first recorded in 1038. ‘Crīstesmæsse’ combining two words; ‘Crīst’ and ‘mæsse’. The word ‘Crist’ meant ‘The annointed one’ and was in use to describe Jesus of Nazareth from…
Jerkin: A close fitting jacket, usually without sleeves, worn by men in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. I have had a request for the origin of the word ‘Jerkin’, the word itself can be traced back to circa 1510 CE but unfortunately its origins are uncertain. The most likely origin is the old French word…
If you’re feeling a little delicate after a night of drinking last night, someone may have recommended that you try the ‘Hair of the dog’; more alcohol the day after heavy drinking – but why is it called that? The phrase is short for ‘Hair of the dog that bit me’; to find the origins…