The fascinating origins of common words that you use every day
A deep dive in the changing etymology of the words you use every day.
Each and every one of us uses somecommunication form every day to interact with people around us and transmit themessages we want to pass. But while we use words andbody language To speak and interact, we rarely think the words we are saying and where they are from. For example, think about the word "muscle" for a second: if you are a gym rat, you probably use this word often, but what you probably do not know that this word literally means "small mouse". And "girl" is one of the most commonly used words in the English language, but he did not get his gender-specific connotation until the 1500s. To broaden your understanding of how you communicate , we searched deeply in the origins of the words you use every day. And for more language look back on, check outThe surprising origins of common words you use all the time.
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1 Walrus
This word is actually ametathesis-ou reordering-of the word old NorroisHrossvalr ("Horse whale"), as it was discovered by no other thanJ. R. R. TOLKIEN. Yes, the man who gifted usThe Lord of the Rings is also the man who, in the 1910s, worked on the first edition of theOxford English Dictionaryand concluded that the word "morses" came to be after another German language confounded by chance the real word Old Norrois Morses (rosmhvalr) With the word for "horse whale. And for some widely used terms that started in the disco decade, see25 common words that did not exist until the 1970s.
2 The tragedy
The word "tragedy" comes from the Greek wordTragodia,which literally means "goat song. »Many theories Have been offered to explain this strange origin, such a being because goats were often sacrificed to the gods at the end of Athens' game competitions, the sound of their cries became associated with Greek tragedies.
3 Mortgage
New owners fixing heavy mortgages will be sympathized with the origin of the term. It comes from the old French wordsdead andgauge, Which translates into English means "promise of death. " According toOnline Eymology DictionaryThe mortgage has a depressing name because "the sectors process either when the debt is paid or in case of payment failure. »
4 crazy
Which makes the origin of this word if, well, bonkers is that it is fully based on speculation. The first word started to appear in Britain in the 1940s as a milder synonym for "crazy", but our best estimate of where the adjective came is perhapsEricPartridge"S A Dictionary of Slang Forces, in which he writes that he is "maybebonk, A shot or punch on theBonce or the head. And for the things you say who show your age, check out50 words that immediately obsolete age you.
5 Index
The modern version of the word "index" comes from its average English ancestor. Spelted "Clew," This old variant called "a ball of wire or wire", and it became associated with the definition we know today thanks to Greek mythology. If you are familiar with the myth of Thésa and the Minotaur, then you will remember that these uses a ball of thread to draw his footsteps through the labyrinth as he searches the minotaur in the labyrinth. Once he kills the minotaur, he uses his wire a "guide to the solution of a mystery", to find his way.
6 Lukewarm
The "Luke" in "lukewarm" is considered a derivative of the average English wordLew and old English wordhley, The two meaning "warm". So yes, technically speaking, lukewarm means just "warm warm. »
7 Muscular
In Latin, the word for the muscle translates into "small mouse". Return When the muscles have been named, people believed that the movement of the tendons looked like mice running under the skin. And for more fun facts about the words and the terms of slang your inbox,Sign up for our daily newsletter.
8 Geek
The people we consider as geeks today are certainly not the same people who have been labeled geeks early 1900s. At the time, the word was used to describe socially difficult, technophilic individuals, but rather artists Cirque sideshow that bit the heads of small living creatures. It was only in the 1980s that the word began to take its current meaning, and by the 21st century, it almost lost its negative connotation quite.
9 Boycott
Although it looks like a compound word, the term "boycott" is in fact the same name, the name of the 19th century land agentCaptain Charles C. Boycott. During the Irish War in the 1880s, famous boycottAttached with the Irish Land League And their followers, who were fighting all for tenant rights. The papers transformed the last name of the owner into an adjective and its use propagates rapidly in other countries and possibly other languages.
10 Disgusting
Before there was the earropper, there was theEAEDROP, or "the ground on which the water drops from the foretlock". This obsolete definition was used before there are gutters on the roofs, at the back when the water would simply fall on the ground so as not to damage the house.
A earpiece has become known as such because there were before runners, people dragging themselves from them to listen to other people's conversations. This new definition has taken the hand as early as the 1500s, asKing Henry VIIIHad wooden characters built into his drops to discourage such gossip and drama. And find out more about words that are not necessarily in the dictionary, checkThe amazing origins of the terms of the argot of every day that you constantly use.
11 Deadline
Almost all professionals live and breathe by delays, at least metaphorically talking. But during the civil war, adeadline wasliterally Life or death - not because people took their missions more seriously at the time, but because during this period, a date being, a deadline returned to the line drawn around a prison a prison could not pass without getting fired. Many decades after the civil war, the American press rooms started using the word "deadline" in its current sense, and the initial definition was anything but eliminated from the use (fortunately).
12 Loophole
In the 1300s, the archers protecting a castle would use loopholes to protect themselves from the cross. No, these archers did not find the ambiguity in the rules to cause a ceasefire and save their lives; Rather, their loopholes were literally small slits in the wall through which they could shoot their arrows while being protected simultaneously. And if you like historical trivia, do not miss the30 crazy facts that will change your vision of history.
13 Robot
The word "robot" is less than 100 years old. In 1920, Czech playwrightKarel Capek invented the term as part of his room,R.U.R., WhereUniversal Rossum Robots. The word of Capek comes from the old word slave of the churchrobota, meaning "servitude" and it uses it in its game to describe the mechanical workers who "lack a soul" and who take the tasks that humans hated. And for the way robots are closely linked to your daily life, learn the20 types of artificial intelligence that you use every day and you do not know it.
14 Driver
WorddriverIn French literally means "the one who heats", as the first drivers were the people paid to maintain a steam engine. However, with the invention of automobiles, the French began to call transport pilotsdrivers In addition, finally pronouncing the word to anyone who paid to drive others.
15 Irritate
The word "chafe" comes from the French wordsharfe, which means "make hot" or "heat". Although it logical to think about what it means to hunt, it is as strange, since it is the same French word that gave us "driver".
16 Funk
WhenMark Ronson wrote "uptown funk", he probably did not think about the original meaning of the Word. Obviously, the word derives from the former Frenchfungic, which means "giving smoke" or "to fill smoke" and was once used to describe tobacco smoke. And if you start note that you have an unpleasant of them, you will want to check the15 ways to deceive you.
17 Giant
In the 1880s, Jumbo was not an adjective, but an elephant traveling with U.S. Circus ShowmanP. Barnum. Weighing at 6.15 tons, the 10-foot high animal was certainly important, even compared to the rest of its elephant members (which weigh an average of 6 tonnes). Given the extraordinary size of the elephant, it is not very surprised that today, the word "jumbo" is used to describe something "exceptionally big for its type".
18 Girl
The word "girl" is not historically attached to a specific sex. Rather, like the Emeritus Professor of LinguisticsSALLY MCCONNELL-GINETexplained to theHuffington positionIt was used for the first time in the 13th century to refer to a young person in general, whether it is a man or a woman. Until the sixteenth century, "Gays Girls" were young women and "Blaven Girls" were young men.
19 Daisy
These flowers receive their name from the old EnglishDævege, meaning "day of the day". Although this name seems random, it is really appropriate because the Daisy petals open at dawn and close again at dusk. And before treating that someone special someone to daisies or other blooming beaitous, readThe romantic man's guide to buy perfect flowers.
20 Apron
The word you now know to be "apron" appeared for the first time in the 14th century as "Napron", a derivative of the medieval French wordnaperon (referring to a cloth placed on a tablecloth to prevent stains). As people used the word Napron in the word, the boundaries of words were blurred andapron became replaced byapron entirely in the 17th century.
21 Smoking
Tuxedo made his first appearance in a country club in Tuxedo Park, New York, offering the jacket dinner his name. According toaccounts Of tuxedo club founding memberGrenville KaneHe was another memberJames Brown Potter Who brought the short jacket at a trip to Sandringham in England and started the new trend of fashion men.
22 Candidate
Quite ironically, the word "candidate" and the word "Candide" share the same root: the Latincandidiasis, which means "brilliant white". Why is it ironic? In Rome, politicians often carried white yogas, because the color was associated with honesty.
23 Uppercase and tiny
The terms "uppercase" and "tiny" have quite literal meanings. At the beginning of the printing press (return when it had no computers and nothing has been automated), the letters of letters of capital letters have been stored in higher cases (the "uppercase") that those of small versions of letters (the "tiny").
24 Flammable
Originally, warning labels have warned that some products were "flammable". However, safety experts feared that people are confused by the prefix, and therefore shortened "flammable" to "flammable". Today, the two words mean the same thing: easily install the fire.
25 Guardian
The word "guard" comes from the French wordkeep, which comes in turn from the English word "Ward". When the French created the wordkeep (Meaning "to keep"), they replaced the sound "W" in "Ward" with a sound "G", creating the base of the "guard". Because of all this return and all these points back, we now have the words "Ward" "Guardian", "Guardian" and "Guardian" -Xespite the fact that they are very similar in the sense.
26 Cappuccino
TheCapuchin Brothers, Part of the Franciscan Order of Monks is known to wear brown dresses with long sharp hoods suspended on the back (calledCappuccios in Italian). While thesecappuccinos Were not Java fanatics, their combs were of the same color as the espresso mixed with moss milk, explaining how their name and name of a popular coffee drink became one and the same.
27 Salary
This common word finds its roots in the word Latinsalar, meaning "of or relative to salt". In ancient Rome, the money and the salt were closely linked; The mineral was an expensive but necessary product at the time, and most warrior salaries were completely spent on this. This relationship has given way to the floor that now describes the amount of fixed money you receive from your employer every few weeks.
28 Risk
The origins of the word "danger" are only based on speculation. However, we think the word comes from the old FrenchchanceWhich means a "game of chance played with dice" and that its definition has finally evolved from "a part of chance" to "a chance to harm" in the 1500s.
29 Sarcasm
When someone becomes sarcastic with you, their remarks can cut deep and hit you where it hurts. And it makes sense, since the word comes from the Greek endsarkazein, literally meaning "to eliminate the flesh". Ouch!
30 Disaster
Once upon a time, the Greeks would blame all their misfortunes on the stars and the unfavorable positions of the planets, and therefore the original meaning of the word "disaster" was "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or a star". The word himself has even roots in the Latinastro, meaning "star".