Etymology Bro

February’s stupid word of the month: everything derived from SEQUEL

English keeps basing the words for storyline continuations on SEQUEL, from Latin SEQUĪ “to follow.” Instead, let’s use Latin CĒDERE “to go” to create ANTECEDEL, INTERCEDEL, and more.

#etymology #wordorigins #scream7 #sequel

LEXICAL GAP: AUNTS AND UNCLES

We have PARENTS and SIBLINGS, so what can we use as a collective noun for aunts and uncles? I propose COUTHS, EAMS, MAYS, or MAYTHWINS, all of which I’ve derived from Old English. After all, SIBLING was revived in the same way.

#etymology #wordorigins #aunts #uncles

WASHINGTON may come from Old English WASSINGTŪN, roughly meaning “Wassa’s town.”

LINCOLN comes from the city once known to the Romans as LINDUM COLONIA, probably from an earlier Celtic name for the area such as LINDON, from LIN– “lake.”

#etymology #wordorigins #presidentsday #washington #lincoln

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DIASPORA

A diaspora is the spread of any group of people from its homeland. Ancient Greek δια- (dia-) “across, apart, through” appears in DIAGONAL (literally meaning “across angle”), while σπορά (sporá) “seed, sowing” also gives us SPORE.

#etymology #wordorigins #diaspora #blackhistorymonth

January’s stupid word of the month: POLYWORK

A compound of POLY– (from Ancient Greek POLYS “many”) and WORK, POLYWORK is a recently coined term for having multiple jobs.

Mixing roots from different languages results in overly basic words. Try POLYERGY instead.

#etymology #wordorigins #polywork

IRAN

IRAN comes from ĒRĀN “of the Iranians” in Middle Persian, a version of the Persian language spoken 1200–2300 years ago. ĒRĀN is the possessive plural of ĒR “Aryan, Iranian,” from Old Persian ARIYA “Arya.” The Achaemenid kings Darius I and Xerxes I used ARIYA as an ethnic term for themselves.

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VENEZUELA

The traditional story behind this name is that explorer Amerigo Vespucci was reminded of Venice, Italy, when he saw the Wayuu people’s boardwalks and houses on stilts over the water.

However, the name VENECIUELA is recorded as a local indigenous term for the area.

The suffix –RY marks an action, condition, place, or quality. It also appears in DENTISTRY and JEWELRY.
Another version, –ERY, appears in BAKERY, BRIBERY, TRICKERY, and WITCHERY.

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English RIVER doesn’t come from Latin RĪVUS, despite their similar spelling and meaning. It actually comes by way of French from Latin RĪPĀRIUS “of a riverbank,” from RĪPA “riverbank, seashore.”

RIVALRY

RIVAL comes from Latin RĪVĀLIS, a term for a neighbor—or even a competitor in love. It more literally means “one who uses the same stream" or simply "of a stream," from RĪVUS “brook, stream.” Compare Italian RIVO, Portuguese RIO, and Spanish RÍO.

#etymology #wordorigins #heatedrivalry

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Latin IĀNUA “door, entrance” is the source of only a few modern Romance words for “door,” such as Sardinian GIANNA or ZANNA. It’s also the source of Portuguese JANELA “window,” which literally means “little door.”

JANUARY replaced the Old English name for the first month of the year, which appears in various texts as ĠIULI “Yule” or ÆFTERA ĠĒOLA “late Yule.”

JANUARY

From Classical Latin IĀNUĀRIUS, literally meaning “of Janus.” Janus (Latin IĀNUS) was the two-faced god of beginnings, doorways, and entrances in ancient Roman religion. His name is from IĀNUS “arcade, covered passageway.” Compare IĀNUA “door, entrance.”

#etymology #wordorigins

OMEGA

From Hellenistic Greek ὦ μέγα (Ô MÉGA), literally "great O." Compare ὂ μικρόν (Ò MIKRÓN) "small O."

OMEGA was created in the 600s BCE to represent a long "aw" sound, as in LAW. Uppercase Ω is merely O with a split and pointed edges. Lowercase ω curls the edges upward.

#etymology #doctorwho

MUZAK

A blend of MUSIC and KODAK.

MUSIC ultimately comes from Ancient Greek μουσικὴ τέχνη (MOUSIKḔ TÉKHNĒ) "art of the Muses," from Μοῦσᾰ (MOÛSĂ) "Muse." MUSIC replaced Old English DRĒAM "joy, music."

KODAK doesn't mean anything. George Eastman simply invented something catchy.

#etymology

YARON

From Hebrew יָרוֹן (YĀRÔN), adapted into English as JARON. Apparently from the verb לָרוֹן (LĀRŌN) "to sing, rejoice," from the root ר-נ-ן (R-N-N). Compare יָרֹן (YĀRŌN) "he/it will sing."

#etymology

SARAH

From Hebrew שָׂרָה (SĀRĀH), meaning "princess" in Biblical Hebrew and "government minister" in modern Hebrew. שָׂרָה is the female version of שַׂר (SAR) "prince; (male) government minister."

שַׂר and שָׂרָה are related to Akkadian ŠARRU "king," as in the names BELSHAZZAR and SARGON.

#etymology

SUSAN

Short for SUSANNA, from Ancient Greek Σουσάννᾱ (SOUSÁNNĀ), from Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (SHÔSHANNĀH) "lily, rose."

Ultimately from Egyptian ZŠN "lotus." Compare Ancient Greek σοῦσον (SOÛSON) "lotus" plus Arabic سَوْسَن (SAWSAN), Persian سوسن (SÔSAN), and Spanish AZUCENA, all "lily."

#etymology #doctorwho

RANI

From Hindi रानी and Urdu رانی (RĀNĪ) "queen," from Sanskrit राज्ञी (RĀJÑĪ). The male counterpart is Sanskrit राजा (RĀ́JĀ) "king," the source of Hindi राय (RĀY).

RANI is distantly related to "queen" words in Celtic and Italic languages, such as Irish RÍON and Latin RĒGĪNA.

#etymology #doctorwho

However, there are two other explanations I like:

1. Traditionally explained as from εὐρῠ́ς (EURŬ́S) "broad, wide" + ὤψ (ṒPS) "eye, face."
2. From a Semitic root meaning "west" and referring to the setting sun, related to Arabic مَغْرِب (MAḠRIB) and Hebrew מַעֲרָב (MA'ĂRĀV), both "west."

Εὐρώπη probably comes from a lost language spoken before Greek, based on placenames starting with EUROP- in Greece and Macedonia, which suggest an origin in a language spoken before Greek arrived in the Aegean basin 4000 years ago.

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EURO-

An abbreviation of EUROPEAN that first appeared around 1850 in EURO-ASIATIC.

EUROPE and EUROPEAN ultimately come from Εὐρώπη (EURṒPĒ), which is of disputed origin and was the name of a Phoenician princess from Tyre (today Ṣūr, Lebanon) in Greek mythology.

#etymology #eurovision

JET

First used about aircraft in the early 1940s. Named after jet propulsion, which relies on jets of gas or liquid.

JET comes from French JETER "to throw," ultimately from Latin IACERE. Compare Italian GETTARE and Spanish ECHAR.

IACERE (stem IECT-) is the source of EJECT and PROJECT.

#etymology

LEO

Latin LEŌ "lion" is the source of most Celtic, Germanic, and Romance words for "lion," plus DANDELION. It comes from Ancient Greek λέων (LÉŌN), as in CHAMELEON and LEOPARD.

Λέων comes from a Semitic root also found in Arabic لَبُؤَة (LABUʔA) "lioness" and Hebrew לָבִיא (LĀVÎ') "lion."

#etymology

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Latin POPULUS allegedly appears in the ancient Latin hymn Carmen Saliare in the plural form POPLOE (as PILUMNOE POPLOE "javelin-wielding people," in reference to the Romans), indicating an earlier singular form such as POPLOS. It may be of Etruscan origin.