Etymology is the history of the origin of words and phrases.
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2answers
87 views
How did the spelling “demesne” come about?
The word demesne seems to just be an alternative spelling of the rather more logically-spelt domain. I'm wondering how this strange spelling came about? Even taking into account its given etymology ...
0
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1answer
35 views
what is the etymology of the word “none-so-pretty”?
Merriam Webster defines the word as:
1
a decorative braid or tape used in the late 18th century
2
a : london pride
b : lobel's catchfly
It looks like an interesting word to know but very ...
5
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1answer
161 views
Why can a bird be pulled but never caught?
In the UK there is a popular idiomatic saying:
To pull a bird.
"Bird" is a well known Brit expression for a young woman. In the USA, I think "chick" is more popular. The above expression means ...
4
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1answer
56 views
What is the origin of the word “skunk” as a verb?
Merriam Webster defines the word as:
1 a : DEFEAT b : to prevent entirely from scoring or succeeding : SHUT OUT
2 : to fail to pay also : CHEAT
While the origin of the noun form of the word is ...
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0answers
25 views
likelier vs. more likely [duplicate]
There seem to be two possible comparative forms of the word likely, namely
likelier and more likely
Similarly in the superlative we also have
likeliest and most likely
Now I'm wondering ...
2
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1answer
90 views
How was “assassin” brought into English?
According to etymological dictionary the word "assassin" is derived, "via French and Italian", from a word translating as "hashis-eater", the name given to certain members of the Nizari Ismaili, a ...
0
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1answer
43 views
Origin of the term “eating your own dog food”
I'm trying to find the first usage of the term "eating your own dogfood", as a reference to companies, especially software companies, using their own products in house in order to more effectively ...
-1
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1answer
40 views
Origin of “no.” abbreviation in meaning of “number”? [duplicate]
I Russian speaker and we have № sign for American #.
But I surprised that there are uses of No. abbreviation as shortened form of number.
What the origin of "no." abbreviation in meaning of ...
2
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2answers
57 views
What is the origin of the word “dead-tree”? [closed]
What is the origin of the word dead-tree? I know that it basically refers to the print edition of a book that is also available in electronic format but would like to understand of the etymology the ...
9
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6answers
606 views
Opposite word for “cursive”, as related to writing
I looked up the etymology entry at etymonline.com for cursive, which reads:
1784, from French cursif (18c.), from Medieval Latin cursivus “running,” from Latin cursus “a running,” from past ...
3
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1answer
62 views
Meaning of '-onomy', '-ology' and '-ography'
I have always wondered about the similarity of the two words
Astronomy and Astrology
that describe two very different things but have their beginning in common and are sometimes confused in ...
5
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0answers
98 views
Where and why were capital letters first used in headlines?
The words in headlines are capitalized. I'm interested in the history of this.
Where and why were capital letters first used in headlines? Where is this practice of capitalization of words in English ...
5
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1answer
77 views
Origin of dead giveaway [duplicate]
I was answering a question at ELL and used the phrase "dead giveaway" and thought that it might not be clear to a non-native speaker. This thought lead me to wonder, where did we get that phrase. I ...
7
votes
1answer
121 views
Origin of “to have a cow”
The phrase "to have a cow" is defined as "to be very worried, upset, or angry about something" in Free Dictionary Online.
Other sources also define it to mean to react very strongly and emotionally. ...
9
votes
1answer
143 views
How did “inmate” evolve to only apply to prisons and asylums?
If you look at census records from the 1920s and before, dorm residents in schools, seminaries, and institutions are referred to as "inmates." The term, then, was not limited just to prisons as ...
23
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4answers
934 views
Why do we say that an obscene joke is “off-color”?
Why do we say that an obscene joke is "off-color"? Is a G-rated joke "on-color"? What color? When and how did this idiomatic expression come from?
4
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1answer
54 views
How did “Captain” become a term for a businessman who employed prison labor?
My great grandfather, who owned a small railroad and lumber business in central Georgia after the Civil War, was referred to frequently as "Captain." I learned that that was not a military rank, but ...
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1answer
51 views
better and best as forms of adjective and adverb
Why do both 'good' and 'well' have the same suppletive comparative and superlative forms in English? What were the steps in that historic process? Were these two words borrowed with these forms or is ...
0
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1answer
128 views
Why eleven is not called onety one [duplicate]
I want to know why eleven is not called "onety one"? Since eleven comes after ten, why is not "onety one"? and why ten is not called onety ?
2
votes
1answer
34 views
absent/abscond - what etymology do they share? [closed]
I was doing some writing today, and during the final editing process I came across a typo: I had misspelled "absent" as "abscent". I couldn't help but think of the word abscond. I wonder if it's true ...
5
votes
2answers
82 views
Origin of “how we/I roll”?
The phrase "that's how we roll" (along with variants) seems to have become increasingly popular in recent years. It appears to draw attention to one's behavior or policies, asserting -- sometimes ...
6
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2answers
46 views
Meaning & Origin of phrase “Step into [him/her]”
I've done a bit of searching for this phrase and found the following:
"step into"
Idioms & Phrases
Involve oneself or intervene, as in He knew he'd be able to step into a job in his ...
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2answers
64 views
What is the correct use of the word “abuses”?
What is the correct use of the word "abuses"?
While the phrase: "Human rights abuses" doesn't seem incorrect, "verbal and physical abuses" does. I am tired, so if I'm being dense please don't be too ...
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0answers
34 views
Where did the idiom “cold turkey” originate from? [duplicate]
I was listening to a radio program about addiction and it occurred to me the strangeness of the idiom "cold turkey", what is the etymology of the phrase and where did it originate from?
4
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1answer
108 views
When did “creep” get associated with computer controlled units in games?
I first saw this term in use for neutral units in Warcraft 3 (released 2002), and then that got carried through derivatives such as Dota (2003).
Was Warcraft 3 the first time creep was used as a ...
8
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2answers
118 views
Beggars on Horseback
Near the end of Book I, chapter 17 of Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens writes:
There are the beggars on horseback too, in another sense from the sense of the proverb. These are mounted and ready ...
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0answers
69 views
Who, in actual, invented English Language? [closed]
Some say English Language is a West Germanic language, which arose from Anglo-Saxon kingdom, some say Shakespeare played an important role in shaping it, some say Northumbrians and West Saxons ...
10
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2answers
172 views
Etymology of “flounder”
Online Etymology Dictionary reads:
flounder (v.)
1590s, perhaps an alteration of founder (q.v.), influenced by Dutch flodderen "to flop about," or native verbs in fl- expressing clumsy motion.
...
7
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1answer
99 views
Etymology of “seat-of-the-pants”
Where does the expression seat-of-the-pants come from? These dictionaries (1, 2, 3) don't give much insight.
What is the etymology of seat-of-the-pants?
5
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2answers
75 views
Why are the notes or protocol of a meeting referred to as its 'minutes'?
A minute is 60 seconds. Something 'minute' is small, minor, perhaps short.
Now, what about the minutes of a meeting or a session? As in, its written protocol? Are they called that because:
The ...
6
votes
1answer
75 views
Etymology of “typeface Weight”
My boss stated that he noticed the word "weight" is used to refer to the boldness of a character, and stated that he felt this was a new occurrence.
My gut feeling is that this is an old term, ...
3
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2answers
78 views
Suit Yourself origins?
The young daughter of a friend of mine said, "I think 'suit yourself' comes from a lazy tailor," which cracked us up. It also got me wondering.
I did the obligatory google search and came up with ...
3
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1answer
106 views
Does the word “simpleness” actually exist? [closed]
I always thought the word "simpleness" didn't exist and this was even confirmed by some American friends of mine. However, I tried to look it up on some online dictionaries and I was surprised to find ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
“Da-” and “wo-” compounds of German
Whereof, thereof, hereof
whither, thither, hither
wherefrom, therefrom, herefrom
wherewith, therewith, herewith.
Are these related to German da- and wo- compounds?
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3answers
218 views
Make/take a photograph?
In English we say "take a photograph" whereas in some other languages one would say "make a photograph".
The French say "take" even though they "make" far more often than we do in English, and ...
2
votes
1answer
262 views
What is swag? And where does it come from?
I'd just like to know where it comes from. This is a word that I've heard all my life but it has always been a special kind of curtain. I was baffled when kids started calling each other curtains so I ...
6
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2answers
178 views
Etymology of “blackguard rating” in the context of the British Army during the Crimean War
From Wikipedia:
I never had such a blackguard rating in all my life – I who have had more than any woman – than from this Barry sitting on his horse, while I was crossing the Hospital Square with ...
4
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1answer
67 views
Where did the phrase “chock-full” come from?
I hear this phase spoken and rarely written, but Merriam-Webster has a definition their website. The origin states "Middle English chokkefull, probably from choken to choke + full."
Does anyone have ...
6
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2answers
191 views
Chuffed - happy or unhappy?
I was looking into the word chuffed this morning, and came across this:-
chuffed 1 /tʃʌft/
adjective British Informal.
delighted; pleased; satisfied.
Origin: 1855–60; see chuff2 , ...
5
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2answers
120 views
origin of new meaning of whitewash
I recently came across "whitewash" used to refer to a (racist) practice of erasing visible minorities in film and advertising by making them appear more white (or even replacing them with white ...
2
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3answers
92 views
Where does the phrase “fair do's/dues/doos/does” come from?
I was researching the phrase fair do's, attempting to determine which spelling was most appropriate, and where it had come from. Unfortunately most of the information I could find was very ...
3
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2answers
184 views
Eleusian vs. Eleusinian (and, to a lesser extent, Elysian)
Both Eleusian and Eleusinian are used in relation to mysteries. I've only seen Elysian used in relation to Elysian Fields.
Given that the suffix -ian denotes "of or belonging to," I'm wondering if ...
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2answers
60 views
Origin of “Homeward ho!”
In the English translation of an essay by Leon Trotsky that came out in Foreign Affairs, I read [emphasis added]:
Now it turns out that the world exchange is the source of all
misfortunes and ...
1
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2answers
115 views
What's the origin of the figure of speech “call the shots”?
I'm well aware that when someone says "he's the one who calls the shots" it means that that person is the one in charge, the one who takes all the relevant decisions.
But what's the origin of this ...
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vote
2answers
77 views
First printed use of the word “diagram” in English
I’m trying to track down the first printed use of the word diagram in English. Can anyone tell me the name, author, and date of the publication in question? It would be especially valuable, on top of ...
4
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1answer
64 views
Provenance of 'deprecated' (in the programming sense)
What are some early uses of "deprecation" in computer science? When did the word enter common usage in the field of programming? Are there any particularly well-known examples of early deprecations ...
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2answers
50 views
Is “re-rendezvous” repetitive?
I recently used the word re-rendezvous in conversation with several people, meaning for two entities to come together again after having initially met and gone their separate ways. (This was a ...
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0answers
35 views
Etymology of "rhyme'' [closed]
Rhyme probably comes from Greek arithmos ("mumber"). But how is it connected with today's meaning?
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0answers
70 views
Etymology of “x” in “pixel”? [closed]
Does anyone know how the word "pixel" (..a minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed) came about?
I've once heard it's the abbreviation of "picture ...
4
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1answer
125 views
Why is the noun form of “permit” “permission”?
The noun form of permit is permission instead of permition. Why isn't it permition?
