Here’s an old post that I enjoyed and I thought would be a nice way to start the first official week of Autumn….
Today’s word is a word so common we may forget its history; and it seems so obvious, we forget that we are the product of 2500 years of work and refinement-and we’re still [...]
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Well, due to the vicissitudes of fate I have not had the wherewithal to produce an etymological essay each week. In fact, I have had the poor fortune to fall egregiously behind. I could sing you a litany of woes, but I am sure that so could many of you. Such is the nature of [...]
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Filed under: Etymologies, Language Notes
Well, I’ve finally gotten this one done. So here it is: Last week’s etymology is machine, a system or device for doing work together with its power source and auxiliary equipment.
It may seem a simple noun, clearly obvious, even to lay folk, but appearances can be deceiving. Machine finds its way to English shores via [...]
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Stupid comes from a Latin root stupidus, “amazed” or “confounded.” It literally meant to be struck senseless (this comes from stupere, stunned; from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)tupe- “hit,” from base *(s)teu-). And this only seems appropriate from Roman culture that always prized a good fight-those Romans were always spoiling for a new war [...]
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It’s universal. It’s obvious. Don’t chew with your mouth open! Tuck your shirt in! Leave the seat down! Everybody knows it. Don’t they? If they don’t, it just makes you want to strangle… um, somebody. This week’s etymology is something that never fails to annoy, one way or another. [...]
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“Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being. It is an act of courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal conditions of existence, coupled with the greatest possible freedom of self-determination.” [C.G. Jung, 1875-1961]
So [...]
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So I apologize that I have not gotten this out sooner, even the weary teacher needs a rest. And I was working diligently on your grades, which I think are important, too. I hoped you wouldn’t mind.So I won’t leave you in suspense any longer, here is the Tardy Etymology of the Week, [...]
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Alright, now that we’re in to the swing of the school year, let’s move on to one of my favorite etymologies. This week’s etymology comes to us from the Middle Ages-and for a Medievalist like me the best things come from that ever entertaining millennium.
Our word is assassin, one who murders by surprise or [...]
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After reviewing your work on etymologies/word origins, I’ve decided I’m beginning a new weekly feature. This feature will highlight a word and its origins, and with any luck it will give us a broader understanding of the language we live within.
So this week’s word is AMBIGUOUS, unclear or vague.
Ambiguous comes from Late Medieval Latin. [...]
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Filed under: Etymologies, Language Notes
