Etymology is the history of the origin of words and phrases.
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Is there any relationship between the English word “seize” and the French word for “16”? [closed]
The number 16 is "seize" in French. Based on research through standard channels, I find it unlikely that our English word "seize" derives from this, but I've always been curious about the connection ...
2
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2answers
93 views
How did the spelling “demesne” come about? [closed]
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 ...
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1answer
37 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
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a : london pride
b : lobel's catchfly
It looks like an interesting word to know but very ...
23
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4answers
953 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?
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3answers
290 views
What is the origin of the usage of the word “rook” as it refers to the chess piece?
And when did it start being used that way? Before or after the bird meaning of "rook"?
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5answers
805 views
What is the origin of idiom “Keep your hair on”?
I had a conversation with a coworker and he told me to keep my hair on. My first understanding of the idiom was that he will do something so fast that, if I was wearing a wig or something it will fly ...
3
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1answer
127 views
Etymology of “favourite” as a verb
The verb favourite or favorite (past tense favourited or favorited) is fairly new and isn't in many dictionaries. Two of the few are Oxford Dictionaries Online, who define it as:
favourite
verb
...
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1answer
152 views
Origin of “Make someday today”
I guess there are other variations for this expression that one can google out on the Internet such as "Make today your someday" and "Make that someday today". However, is it possible to find out its ...
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3answers
244 views
What does “zingo” mean?
I'm doing some maintenance work on some software - whose original developers are unknown. There is a report called the "All Zingo Report", which basically dumps all the data for the primary "entity" ...
5
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5answers
2k views
“Out of pocket”?
I'm increasingly hearing the phrase "out of pocket" used in America as a colloquialism to mean "away from the office", "unavailable", or "incommunicado".
I apologize for not replying sooner; I ...
5
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3answers
278 views
The term 'vocal fry': where does it come from?
On a recent Language Log posting Vocal fry: "creeping in" or "still here"?, Mark Liberman discusses an (also) recent article about the phenomenon of 'vocal fry' and shows how it has been around for ...
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167 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
60 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
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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
91 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 ...
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2answers
3k views
How did the phrase “are you nuts” come about?
What is the connection between "nut" and the character? How was the phrase "are you nuts?" used at first?
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6answers
19k views
How did “sinister”, the Latin word for “left-handed”, get its current meaning?
Sinister is the Latin word for left-handed. What evolution of meaning turned left-handed into evil and threatening?
5
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3answers
918 views
Where does “otay” come from?
I've heard a few people (all native English speakers) recently use "otay" in place of "okay", both in writing and when speaking. Where does that word come from? For that matter, is it a word at all?
...
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1answer
45 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 ...
21
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3answers
2k views
Why are not “infamous” and “inflammable” the opposite of “famous” and “flammable”?
Why are not infamous and inflammable the opposite of famous and flammable, like incomplete, inactivity, inappropriate and so on?
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3answers
5k views
Origin of “More X than you can shake a stick at”
What is the origin of the phrase "more X than you can shake a stick at"?
Every website I've seen on this basically says the same thing (e.g., http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sha2.htm):
Recorded ...
5
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1answer
80 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 ...
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2answers
60 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 ...
10
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6answers
645 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 ...
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2answers
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Why is the word 'number' abbreviated to 'No.' in UK English and '#' in American English?
Why the disparity? And why use 'No.'? Is it from the French?
And the hash or pound sign seems a weird choice too, is there a history or any reason involved?
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1answer
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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 ...
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3answers
988 views
basketball expression 'from downtown'
In NBA basketball, TV commentators use the expression "shoot from downtown" when a player shoots beyond the 3-point line. What is the origin of this expression?
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4answers
1k views
Are Anglo-Saxon words better at expressing emotion?
Twice recently I've seen someone on this site state that Anglo-Saxon words, or words of Germanic origin, are better for expressing emotion than words derived from Latin. Does anyone have any ...
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3answers
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Is it “a tough row to hoe?”, or “a tough road to hold?”
Is it an old farming metaphor, or a military saying? Where did this(these) saying(s) originate?
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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. ...
3
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7answers
6k views
What is the etymology and meaning of “fill your boots”?
I have a colleague of whom this is a favorite phrase, used in the sense of "knock yourself out", "go for it", "have at it", "go to town", "help yourself". ("You want to add that feature to the ...
4
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4answers
2k views
Where did “the price of tea in china” come from?
Usually when someone does not think your current statement has to do with the conversation at hand they can ask, "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China"?
Where did that form of ...
3
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1answer
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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 ...
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0answers
112 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 ...
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6answers
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New verb: “to verbal”
I seem to be noticing this one entering the popular lexicon lately, but cannot find a good definition.
Examples:
No, you're just verballing...
Leakegate: Leake verballed Richard Dawkins
...
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4answers
627 views
Etymology of “goon”
The etymologies of "goon" that I've looked up seem to center on Alice the Goon, a "slow-witted and muscular (but gentle-natured) character" created by E.C. Segar (Popeye's daddy).
But it seems like ...
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4answers
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Who were the 'pros from Dover'?
I was reading Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy this morning, and he compares his characters to the 'pros from Dover'.
This was a phrase that I also remember hearing in the movie M*A*S*H - so it seems to be ...
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Why “sense of humour”?
I always had this question in my mind: Why people use the phrase "sense of humour" for the quality of being humorous and funny?
The word sense suggests it is about perceiving and receiving something. ...
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5answers
890 views
How/From where did the term “paradigm shift” originate?
Paradigm Shift + Thinking outside of the box = Death of a Salesman
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1answer
257 views
Un-(adjective) but In-(noun) — does it ever go the other way?
Many pairs of words use un- as a prefix for the preferred adjective but in- as a prefix for the preferred noun (e.g. unstable/instability, unequal/inequality, unable/inability, unjust/injustice, ...
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1answer
373 views
Origin and meaning of “strealish”/“streelish”
I've heard the word strealish (or streelish) used to describe someone with a lost or wan look or someone unkempt or untidy.
I know it's an Irishism, but what is the origin of the word and what did it ...
5
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2answers
2k views
How did “next day” come to mean “day of next week”?
This question touched on the confusion of the common usage of "next Tuesday" to really mean "Tuesday of next week", as opposed to the "soonest upcoming Tuesday". When one considers the actual ...
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1answer
126 views
Origin of plurals and possessives
What is the origin of English plurals and possessives? English plurals look more French plurals, but I am not sure that is where they come from. As for possessives, I don't know where they come from.
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2answers
185 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 ...
9
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1answer
146 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 ...
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1answer
2k views
What is a plausible etymology of “dosh”, a British slang word for money?
Neither Wikitionary nor The Online Etymology Dictionary seem to know anything.
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571 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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1answer
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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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What is the origin of the word “optics” that's prevalently used now in politics?
Here’s an example from RealClearPolitics:
But the optics bode well for a party whose chances of winning the White House depend on attracting many more Hispanic voters than it did four years ago.¹ ...
