Archive for the ‘etymology’ Category
Etymology lesson of the week
Christmas, is a word I wanted to add to this section for a while and it’s now appropriate. “The shortening of Christmas to Xmas by educated persons who knew Greek has been common since the sixteenth century. “Xmas” was an ecclesiastical abbreviation used by churchmen in tables & charts. In ancient Christian art χ and […]
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Etymology lesson of the week
:: Trivia :: Coming from the Latin, ‘tri-‘,meaning ‘three’ and ‘via’, meaning ‘road’ or ‘the way’. Trivium thus meant “the meeting place of three roads, especially as a place of public resort.” People actually met at that point and discussed interesting topics, such as a rhetoric would. In the Roman empire, a trivium would often […]
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Etymology lesson of the week
cent & kate (11) Originally uploaded by centkate. Sincerely. Sincere is derived from the Latin -Sine Cera- which means, -without wax-. Also meaning, honest [as in an honest intention] and without wax regarding the closing of a letter/note. But also regarding people’s behaviour about being genuine and uncorrupted. *thanks James Post scriptum: This post reminded […]
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Etymology lesson of the week
companion Latin: cum + panis = with + bread. Back in the Roman times, friends would cut a loaf of bread in half and share it. Hense the definition of the word companion today. Etymonline AspriLexi
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Etymology lesson of the week
1. The word warrior is to war as what word is to jihad? Answer: A person who makes war is a warrior, whereas a person who undertakes jihad – which means “struggle” in Arabic – is a mujahid; several of them are called mujahidin. 2. How many baskets are there in a Dodekathronon? Answer: The […]
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Etymology lesson of the week
Labor (n.) c.1300, “exertion of the body,” from O.Fr. labour (Fr. labeur), from L. laborem (nom. labor) “toil, pain, exertion, fatigue, work,” perhaps originally “tottering under a burden,” related to labere “to totter.” The verb is c.1300, from M.Fr. labourer, from L. laborare, from labor. The verb in modern Fr., Sp., Port. means “to plow;” […]
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Etymology lesson of the week
Emmy “statuette awarded by the American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” 1949, said to be an alteration of Immy, from image. Etymoline Post Scriptum :: For the etymology lovers, here is an awesome game: Moot
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Sameness is a waste 