Questions tagged [etymology]

Questions about tracing out and describing the elements of an individual word, as well as the historical changes in form and sense which that word has experienced over its history. Please use the 'phrase-origin' tag for phrase/expression origins.

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Relationship between sw- and w- phonesthemes

Consider the following pairs of English words: whirl - swirl whoosh - swoosh wipe - swipe (and maybe "sweep" too) wag - swag (as in the motion) wing - swing (maybe) I am aware of ...
Siddharth's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
125 views

What is the etymology of the sense of 'key' in 'key a surface', 'provides a key for the paint'

The sense of the word 'key' I'm referring to is illustrated in the following sentences taken from the internet: Would a thorough abrasion with a wire brush suffice to key the surface? [verb; spelling ...
Edwin Ashworth's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
8 views

The sick vs. The injured [migrated]

I'm not a native English speaker so I don't quite understand the nuance of these two words. When talking about various injuries of an individual or a group of people, which is the right word to use? ...
Jake's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
78 views

What is the origin of the term "post" as in "post a journal to the general ledger"?

I understand what it means to post a journal, but I'd love to know the origin of the term. I've not been able to find an explanation from Google. My intuition is that it might refer to a historic time ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
1 answer
48 views

How did we come to use at, on, in for time as we do now?

Contact me at 5 o'clock on a Monday in the new year There are many resources which explain the rules about which preposition to use for time phrases to English learners, e.g. We use at with: with ...
minseong's user avatar
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-4 votes
0 answers
76 views

Where's the first attestation of the distinction between "hardcore" hentai and "softcore" ecchi?

The Wikipedia articles on both "Hentai" and "Ecchi" (the "Western usage" in particular) do not provide much clarity on this. Etchi in Japanese as far as I can tell is ...
Vun-Hugh Vaw's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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What s, if any, the type of noun modifier for the receiver of a verb

I'm looking to find what it is called when a noun is modified by a prefix/suffix to mean that it is someone who receives x. And also, if there are examples of it in languages that are simple. The best ...
Durakken's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
98 views

Etymology of Mecca

Most dictionaries just list it as "from Arabic", with the better ones providing the script مكة or a transcription showing that it's actually pronounced Makkah in classical and modern ...
lly's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Was "coven" used as a term for a group of witches in 1608 or was another term in use?

I am writing a screenplay set in England in the year 1608. In one sentence I used the word coven (a group of witches), but according to Etymonline this word started to be used from 1660, or 52 years ...
Dylan Lozano's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
56 views

Why ternary not ternal?

Why is is the base-2 numeral system called binary, the base-3 one called ternary, when base-8 is octal and base-10 is decimal? The different suffixes, -ary vs -al, are what I am concerned about.
minseong's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
77 views

When did the expression "he gets up my nose" originate?

Google fails to locate any etymology source and no dictionary online provides an answer.
Keith Chapman's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
115 views

Authoritative source for distinction between 'collaboration' vs. 'cooperation'? [duplicate]

The question of how collaborate and cooperate differ (if at all) seems not to have a straightforward answer. It was asked before on this site as What's the difference between "Collaborate" ...
user1362373's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
105 views

OED 3e: 'Etymology' and 'Meaning & use' for "goto" [closed]

When trying to search for "goto" on merriam-webster.com or dictionary.com, it redirects to go-to. Often, entries will state that what you were trying to search for is a common misspelling, ...
v.v's user avatar
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1 answer
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Are the words act and fact cognates?

According to Google, fact comes from Latin factum, which comes from facere, while act comes from agere via actual. But I remember reading something that said that they come from the same word, and a ...
TylerDurden's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

Are the words elision and ellipsis related etymologically?

Are the words elision and ellipsis related etymologically? For some reason Wiktionary hints at no despite the two words' appearances. I know there meanings have kind of become conflated in the modern ...
languagelover3000's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
78 views

When is the phrase "Guest Recognition Expert" from?

I have noticed that some hotels now have jobs for guest recognition experts. Apart from the fact that I find it very hard to understand exactly what it means by just reading its constituent parts, I ...
Simd's user avatar
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1 vote
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Origin of suffix name

I always have difficulty to remember the meaning of suffix (end part of a word), in the context of a word. So, I looked for the origin of the word suffix, but to be honest I don't understand it: What ...
joan's user avatar
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0 answers
51 views

The etymology of doctoring text [duplicate]

I was gutted today that I failed The Times crossword on one clue - "writings not considered genuine", which I've now come to know is "apocrypha". While trying to give a clue to ...
roganjosh's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
161 views

What is the origin of the phrase "Into thin air"

The meaning of the phrase is well known and can be found in several online dictionaries including Cambridge and Merriam Webster. To disappear without a trace. It appears in Shakespeare's Othello and ...
Peter Jennings's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
299 views

When and where did “First against the wall…” originate?

background The phrase: You’ll be first against the wall, when the revolution comes or, Come the revolution, you’ll be first against the wall and variants thereof, particularly the shortening & ...
Dan Bron's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
154 views

Why does "consecutive" have a 'c' instead of a 'q'?

The etymology of the word shows it comes from the Latin consequi, to follow after, which is an origin of the word sequential as well. So why is consecutive not spelled consequtive, or why is ...
Austin Hill's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
101 views

Is there a word for when the name of something describes or defines how it is made?

I am wondering if there is a word for this as described in the title. My example: I am writing about a SWANA ingredient/food product by the name of "Freekeh", which is based on the Arabic ...
freekehfreak's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
59 views

Etymology of lamotialnini, a type of cicada [closed]

Lamotialnini are a tribe of cicadas. I haven't been able to find an etymology for this very odd-looking term and am wondering where it derives from. I'd appreciate any comments.
bsbb4's user avatar
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1 answer
145 views

Is there a common origin of the German and English "ch" and does English know the pronunciation of "ch" like in German "machen"

In German "ch" is pronounced in at least three different ways depending on context. It could be pronounced more like a K like in "Charakter" and in the two other forms which I ...
Niclas's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Origin of "cut a voluntary" meaning "to fall from one's horse when hunting"

It is apparently hunting jargon term meaning to fall off of a horse. Definition below from Dictionary of Jargon (Routledge Revivals) By Jonathon Green: cut a voluntary v. [Hunting] to fall from one's ...
Spehro Pefhany's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
135 views

Where does the second definition of applesauce, nonsense, come from?

Where does the meaning of nonsense in applesauce come from? I tried looking it up, and Etymonline says that The slang meaning "nonsense" is attested from 1921 and was noted as a vogue word ...
Sophia's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
72 views

Does "transparent" have contradictory meanings?

Varous definitions of the word "transparent" seem almost contradictory: nearly invisible easy to perceive functioning without the user's perception The first two definitions seem to be in ...
benjimin's user avatar
  • 139
1 vote
1 answer
106 views

What does "it" refer to in "sweated it out"?

In the following sentence as an example : "He sweated it out until the lab report was back", What does "it" refer to in "sweated it out"? I have just seen the example &...
Nadirspam's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
1k views

What is the origin of “give it the beans!”?

There’s a phrase, possibly specific to British English, to “Give it [some/the] beans!” when referring to a task that somebody should put more effort into. It’s similar to “Give it some welly!”. What I ...
deeBo's user avatar
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1 answer
118 views

Was "tea" ever pronounced as "teh-ah"?

Follow up on SciFi.SE Pronunciation of teatime: in my answer I argue that "teh-ah" as spelled out once in a discworld novel is a pronunciation-spelling. It is essentially not clear why tea /...
vectory's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
14 views

Use of suffix "phobe" or "phobia" for hatred? [duplicate]

The words that come to mind are "islamophobia" and "homophobia" but I am sure there are other examples. At the same time, there are many cases where the suffix means simply fear (...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 593
8 votes
2 answers
840 views

Etymology and Elizabethan English connotations of "sat at meat" (Mark 2:15, KJV)

I came across a King James (1611) translation of Mark 2:15: And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: ...
GratefulDisciple's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
143 views

History of "Featherstonehaugh"

How did the surname "Featherstonehaugh" acquire its modern pronunciation /ˈfænʃɔː/, in spite of regular English sound changes?
Zeego's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
113 views

Etymology of "mile" -> mille passus -> thousand steps - not large enough a distance

It is undisputed that a mile (measure of distance) comes from the latin mille passus. Mille means one thousand (1,000) and passus is translated to the Engish cognate "paces". It is therefore ...
Bastiaan Quast's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
136 views

Is "fierceless" a word, and if so, what is its etymology?

From a Safire NYT column: Nobody intimidated him back, not the Government, whose I.R.S. he challenged; not the Mafia, some of whose hoods he defended; not the press, whose bad publicity he courted; ...
dewarrn1's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
579 views

Why are medical professionals called Doctors?

Searching online for the origin of Doctor being used for medical professionals, the often repeated facts are: The word comes for the Latin to teach At some point medical professionals started to be ...
dubious's user avatar
  • 3,037
1 vote
1 answer
52 views

Is there any etymological link between template and contemplate

Wikitionary doesn't seem to think there is (unless I am misreading) https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/template Alteration of templet, probably from French templet, diminutive of temple (“a weaver's ...
user30050's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

Is this abbrevation of ARMY and NAVY true? [closed]

Recently I realized that teachers at a local school were teaching the following to primary students: What is the expanded form of army? Alert Regular Mobility Young Searching this online I also ...
Sahaj's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
42 views

Is “actual” both a false friend and a cognate from Spanish to English?

English definition of “actual”: existing in fact; typically as contrasted with what was intended, expected, or believed. Spanish definition of “actual”: current, present, contemporary These are ...
Felix's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
118 views

When and where did 'hospice' in the sense of 'palliative care facility or program for the terminally ill' originate in English?

Merriam-Webster's Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, first edition (1898) has this entry for hospice: Hospice, n. {F., fr. L. hospitium hospitality, place where strangers are entertained, fr. hospes ...
Sven Yargs's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
189 views

Is the term "Hot dog" a misnomer? If not, then what makes a term a misnomer?

I recently engaged in a lively debate with a friend about whether the term "hot dog" qualifies as a misnomer. My argument stemmed from the fact that a hot dog doesn't actually contain dog ...
Steven Grullon's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
139 views

How did "phenomenal" come to mean "extraordinary"?

Phenomenal nowadays is primarily used in common discourse to mean extraordinary, although it has a now-rarer secondary meaning which I suspect was originally its primary meaning: a. known through the ...
temporary_user_name's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Etymologically, how did 'outrage' get 're-analyzed'?

Wiktionary: From... Old French... oultrage (“excess”)... derived from Latin ultrā (“beyond”). Later reanalysed as out- +‎ rage, whence the contemporary pronunciation, though neither of these is ...
zeno's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
80 views

Easier said than done vs. Easier to say than do

As a speaker of English as a second language, I've long been curious to know why English speakers would choose to say "Easier said than done" over "Easier to say than do". Why ...
Choe Guevara's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
101 views

Is there a term for a button or feature that does not actually do anything, other than giving the user a sense of control?

I was wondering if there was a one-word term for this. I suppose a classic example might be the "Door Close" button on an elevator. Essentially, a working feature that apparently does ...
Kevin Cote's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
281 views

Is there such a thing as a new adage?

I was brought up to understand that a proverb that is described as an adage is, by virtue of its longevity, old. Take, for exapmle, the Old Testament book of Proverbs, some of which date back ...
Lesley's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
178 views

Why is "sepulcher" pronounced the way it is?

Since I first read it, I always pronounced the word "sepulcher" as /səˈpal.tʃə/, but recently I learned that the correct pronunciation is /ˈsɛ.pəl.kə/, or slight variations thereof. Now, ...
Cecilia's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
59 views

Would not 'armistice' be a better word to use than 'pause' in present discussions of 'ceasefire'?

In the current situation, there are calls for a 'ceasefire' and calls for a 'pause'. Humanitarian pauses and ceasefires – what are the differences? Chatham House org But there exists a better word ...
Nigel J's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
475 views

"Out of sight" to refer to something that is very good — could it be based on German?

There is a word in German, ausgezeichnet which vaguely sounds like the English phrase "out of sight" but that is usually translated as "excellent". I could see some non-German ...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 593
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

What is the origin of the verb 'foxed' in reference to book condition?

I ordered a book online, unseen, and the invoice told me the book, or at least its pages, were 'foxed'. I had never come across the expression, did not know the word could be a verb and discovered : ...
Nigel J's user avatar
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