Etymology concerns the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. If you are asking about the history or past life of a term or phrase, as opposed to the origin of the term or phrase, please use the history tag instead.
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Why are checks cancelled when approved?
A friend of mine just asked if I had paid him back for some money he lent me. I told him the check was cancelled on the 9th. Concerned, he asked, "why'd you cancel the check?"
I replied, "I didn't ...
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4answers
96 views
What is the origin of the noun “satellite town”?
A satellite town is a town that is located in the outskirts of a major city. What is the origin of this name, satellite town? What does "satellite" exactly mean here?
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1answer
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Origin of “the wrong end of the stick”
If someone has the wrong end of the stick it means they've misunderstood something.
If they've got the shitty end of the stick it means they've got a bad deal in some bargain or share-out. This ...
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Etymology of “to coin a phrase”
Quite simply — who coined the phrase "to coin a phrase"?
I'm sure it wasn't one person, but it's the origin that is of interest.
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1answer
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How did the pronunciation of the word “derby” evolve?
Brits say "dar-bee" for both the town and the race, but Americans pronounce it as it's spelled.
Did Brits used to say "der-bee" too and that's why it's spelled that way but they changed over time?
...
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1answer
49 views
Origin of the word “elder”
I was wondering if this word is in anyway related to some ancient diety or religion, if so which ?
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75 views
What's the origin and reasoning behind the phrase, “a pat on the back”?
I came across a sentence where it was written that " Mr. X got a pat on the back from his boss".
I know that the boss definitely would have praised him. But why it couldn't be like
"Mr. X got ...
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1answer
64 views
Origin of slang “doing a bid” for prison time?
Going to prison is called "doing a bid". What's the history behind that? Is it based on "doing bird" (based on being locked up like a bird)?
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1answer
75 views
“Deuce and a half” for body weight
This expression is from the movie There's Something About Mary:
She put a lot of weight, about a deuce and a half.
Is this used to refer to overweight people? The only reference I could find is ...
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2answers
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What does “frost your pickle” mean and where did it come from?
I hear my mom say this all time:
Well doesn't that just frost your pickle?
I usually laugh because it sounds funny, but honestly I have no idea what it's really supposed to mean, in the sense ...
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3answers
86 views
Origin of “to blow your own horn”
What's the origin of the idiom "to blow your own horn"?
Is there some metaphor behind it with some animal horn or whatnot?
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1answer
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Origin of the term “understudy” [closed]
I've recently seen a musical and, on the night I went, three roles were being played by understudies instead of the regular actors.
This term has always puzzled me, partly because I've never found a ...
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3answers
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Etymology of “Given up the ghost”
What is the origin of the phrase "Given up the ghost"?
e.g. "After 10 years, my DVD player has finally given up the ghost."
Does it have a religious connotation?
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What is the origin of the phrase “suck it up”? [closed]
Possible Duplicate:
What does “suck it up and go” mean?
To "suck it up" means to carry on in spite of unpleasant circumstances. Where did the expression come from?
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2answers
50 views
Where does the expression “a wide berth” come from
I know it as a nautical term. Some of my female friends seem to think a chauvinistic reference to birth. Where does "a wide berth" as in "give it a wide berth" (meaning lots of room) come from?
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2answers
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How did “used” get its meaning?
If one is accustomed to doing something, it's often said in English that they are "used" to doing it. However, why do we use "used" in this way? It doesn't seem to bear much relation to the simple ...
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1answer
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Etymology of “No skin off my nose” [closed]
Possible Duplicate:
Where does the phrase “No skin off my teeth/nose” come from?
What is the origin of the phrase "No skin off my nose" ?
e.g.
Bob: I've heard ...
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6answers
700 views
How did the Swedish word “fartlek” make it to the English language running vocabulary?
This is a question originally from Fitocracy by ivh:
Btw, anybody know how come that the Swedish word "fartlek" made it
into English running lingo?
Edit: Thanks Paul for posting this on my ...
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4answers
160 views
Why do we use a French term for a currency-exchange office?
In British English and across Europe, the term Bureau(x) de change is used to describe what US English speakers would call a Currency Exchange or Foreign Exchange (office).
Why do we use a French ...
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0answers
50 views
What is the origin of the term “versus”? [closed]
What intrigues me about the word versus, is that it's one of those words that is broad to the point where it becomes almost invisible to our concious. There is no thought in the use of "versus." It's ...
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2answers
87 views
What is the origin of the expression “I'm broke”?
When people have no money with them they usually use the expression "I'm broke"
Does anyone know how this originated?
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What is the etymology of the phrase “beyond the pale?” [closed]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the origin of the phrase “beyond the pale”?
And, for clarification, is it "beyond the pale" or "pail?"
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1answer
108 views
What's the etymology of English letter casing terminology?
The popular consensus around the web (i.e., Wikipedia) seems to be that "upper case" and "lower case" originate from typesetting convention of upper and lower drawers for letters, possibly preceded by ...
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3answers
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Do people really think “muslin” has something to do with “Muslim”?
My boss just floored me with a doozy of an assertion: he had me change someone's password, which contained the word "muslin", because "you can't go calling people Muslims in this day and age".
Yeah, ...
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3answers
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Why is window “tinting” not window “toning” or “shading”?
In color theory, tinting means to add white while toning adds grey and shading adds black. What is the origin of the use of tinting then in terms of windows? Are they unrelated?
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Where does the word “shibby” come from?
In Dude, Where's My Car?, Jesse and Chester use the word "shibby" a lot. I could not find this word in any dictionary, but Urban Dictionary defines it as a slang term.
What is the origin of this ...
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2answers
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Origin of “do not argue with idiots”
What is the origin of the phrase do not argue with idiots? Please cite some credible references. From googling around, I found these three variations. One came from the bible but I couldn't find any ...
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Etymology of 'cartesian'
Because of the fact that Rene Descartes developed the Cartesian coordinate system, I would think that the word Cartesian would be named after him (Des-cartes). However, I can't shake the feeling that ...
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1answer
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What is the origin of the word “Impression” in the Internet advertising term “Cost-Per-Impression” (CPM)
In Internet advertising jargon, an "impression" is defined by Wikipedia as
the display of an ad to a user while viewing a web page.
The word is most often used in the term Cost-per-Impression ...
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4answers
408 views
What's the literal meaning of “Real Estate”?
Today, watching pictures of the Empire Estate, I realized that the word "Real" in "Real Estate" might be about "royalty" instead of "reality".
Being English a foreign language to me, I don't really ...
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3answers
138 views
What's the origin of “Copycat”?
I called one of my friends "copycat" the other day, and suddenly thought about it.
Why is it a "cat"? Where did this expression come from?
Does anyone have any information regarding how this phrase ...
3
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1answer
54 views
Etymology on “egging on”
What is the etymology on "egging on"?
e.g. It was Jack who did it. But Jane was really egging him on.
Does it actually relate to eggs, or is it simply derived from "urging on"?
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Where did “wired” come from?
I am not a coffee drinker, but I just drank some coffee. I said to my Hispanic friend, "I am WIRED!" and had to explain what the slang term means. However now that I think about it, that's an awfully ...
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1answer
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What to call a winged unicorn? [closed]
I've heard a few ways of describing such a fantastical beast, but I don't know which is correct.
They are known as both Alicorns (Ali supposedly from ala (wing) and Corn meaning horn), as well as ...
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3answers
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Expression “to run roughshod over someone”?
What is the origin of the expression "to run roughshod over someone"? I have heard it being used by Mitt Romney, but I couldn't find if it has an American origin.
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“Skipping rope” vs. “jump rope”
Well it is summer time and I have to lose some weight so I have chosen the cardiovascular activity to do that jumping rope. While digging on some information I have asked myself a few questions:
Why ...
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Origin of the term “wizard” in computing
In computer user interfaces a "wizard" is a set of screens that guide the user through a process.
Does anyone know the origin of this term? I personally associate wizards with magic more than a ...
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2answers
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What is the meaning of the word “this,” all by itself?
I suppose this one might qualify as an internet meme, but I'm not sure.
I recently have begun seeing people use the word "this" as a single word sentence, such as in response to someone else's post. ...
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1answer
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Trapezium/trapezoid — why are the US/UK definitions swapped around?
These are the US definitions...
Trapezoid — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of opposite sides parallel.
Trapezium — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides and NO parallel ...
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5answers
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The origin of the term “Baker's Dozen”?
There's a "hot question" at the moment about the use of the apostrophe in the phrase Baker's Dozen, and it got me to wondering: where did this phrase originate?
Did bakers really offer 13 in a dozen? ...
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1answer
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Why does “sophomore” refer to a second-year student?
I came across Etymonline's explanation for the word sophomore. I do not understand why this has come to be applied to second-years. Why is a second-year guy a wise one and a fool?
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origin of the expression “there is more than one way to skin a cat” [closed]
Possible Duplicate:
Origin of the phrase, “There's more than one way to skin a cat.”
what is the origin of the expression "there is more than one way to skin a cat"? I can't ...
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2answers
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What is the origin of the phrase “from your lips to God's ears?”
I used this phrase in a conversation with my wife yesterday and was surprised to learn that she had never heard of it. This led me to wonder where it came from.
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2answers
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What's the origin of “flipping the bird”?
What is the origin/meaning of the phrase "flipping the bird"?
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2answers
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“[Noun] as she is [past participle]”
As an example, I recently came across a blog titled "Software As She Is Developed". I know I've seen that construct before — "noun as she is past participle" — in other contexts. It's fairly ...
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2answers
286 views
Where does the phrase “No skin off my teeth/nose” come from?
The phrase "it's no skin off my nose/teeth" is generally used to mean that something isn't much of a risk/concern. But where does it come from? Specifically with respect to teeth. What is tooth skin?
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Why do we “talk turkey”?
Some customers and I started to talk turkey over a programming requirement the other day, meaning that all parties involved were starting serious negotiations or discussions.
Naturally I wondered why ...
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Why are nicknames called “nicknames”?
Where did this term originate from? According to Etymonline.com, it originates from O.E. eaca, which means to "increase". However, I can't see how the "n" got stuck in there too.
Does anyone have ...
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1answer
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“Idiom” and “idiot” [closed]
The words idiom and idiot differ only in the final letters: t and m. So I was wondering - do these words have a common root? If so, how have the t and m changed this root?
