Questions tagged [origin-unknown]
Words and phrases whose origin is unknown or in serious dispute, according to reputable reference works.
156
questions
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0answers
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A question about Lyric of an ABBA song [closed]
In an ABBA song "Happy new year", The lyrics composed by ABBA subsume "When all the words of every neighbour is a prayer". is the sentence original or substitute?
18
votes
2answers
2k views
Where did “humongous” first appear?
William Hartson called the word “surely one of the ugliest words ever to slither its way into our dictionaries”, but regardless of what he would like to say about the word, I actually have always ...
1
vote
1answer
39 views
Who coined “the eye of heaven”?
For the longest time I had always thought that Our great Bard had, with his poetic wonder, come up with "the eye of heaven" for his immortal, sonnet 18:
Rough windes do ſhake the darling ...
2
votes
2answers
70 views
What is the origin of x-mark used as a signature of illiterate
I'm not sure that it is the proper site to ask this question, maybe it's an off-topic. However, I've heard it is also a kind of lingual expression used in English/American culture.
I've heard that X-...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
Where does the word 'reactionary' come from?
I am interested in the origin of this word, strictly in the political usage of the word (Reactionary = conservative, right-wing). The definition is simple enough:
Reactionary: Characterized by ...
0
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0answers
18 views
Express Preferences
Instead of or/and over?
I'll take aspirin instead of ibuprofen.
I'll choose your brand over my usual.
Is that correct?
7
votes
2answers
774 views
Is the origin of the word “loot” a coinage as a result of the East India Company's behavior?
As a South Asian, I've long heard that the English word "loot" comes directly from the Hindi word lūṭ, meaning to steal or plunder, and was coined as a result of the East India Company's siphoning of ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
What is the independent and standalone meaning and origin of phrase “veiled grab”?
Reading thro' linked articles in Wikipedia, I have found a phrase, the definitive meaning or synonym of which, I haven't found, searching thro' online dictionaries.
Though I am mentioning the example ...
6
votes
1answer
840 views
Origin of the saying “God must love the poor because he made so many of them”
The saying "God must love the poor [or the common people or the plain people] because he made so many of them" falls somewhere between a proverb and a famous quotation, but its origins are rather ...
3
votes
1answer
152 views
Who originally said “A film is made/written three times”?
A movie is made three times: it’s made when it’s written, it’s made in production, and it’s made again in post.
This is a very well known saying within the film industry, essentially explaining how ...
3
votes
1answer
168 views
How did “itch” come to be used to mean “scratch” as in “I had to itch my leg”?
None of the regular sources list itch as a transitive verb meaning to scratch. Yet I hear it used that way in American English all the time. One of the British mods of this site says the usage occurs ...
4
votes
1answer
101 views
Etymology of “bilbo”
Here's what "bilbo" means -
Bilbo
noun (1)
: a long bar of iron with sliding shackles used to confine the feet of
prisoners especially on shipboard.
noun (2)
: ...
2
votes
4answers
293 views
Etymology of “doodah”
Here's what "doodah" means -
Doodah
: used to refer to something that the speaker cannot name precisely.
"From the poshest potpourri to the humblest dangly doodah."
Basic ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the origin of the word “geroff”?
I am not a native speaker so never had a chance to meet the term in the wild, and only seen it in Harry Potter series mostly used by Ron Weasley.
My somewhat corrupted mind assumed it being a ...
13
votes
2answers
2k views
Etymology of “banjax”
Here's what "banjax" means -
Banjax
: ruin, incapacitate, or break.
"He banjaxed his knee in the sixth game of the season."
Basic research showed that it comes from the 1930s -
...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Why do Australians and NZers call snacks/lunch *crib*?
From another question I found out that Australians and New Zealanders call lunch and snacks crib.
On the Macquarie dictionary site, there are several (user contributed) theories about why, but ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the origin of the phrase, “That’s for me to know and you to find out”?
I was just watching the preview for Blue Velvet (1986) and heard Kyle McLachlan use the phrase: “That’s for me to know, and you to find out”.
I assume the phrase is probably older than that movie, ...
6
votes
1answer
167 views
Is bludgeon connected with blood or block?
Bludgeon is a short, heavy club which is thicker or loaded at one end.
Both OED and Etymonline say "origin unknown". There are possible Cornish, Celtic, Dutch, cant, Middle French, Irish and Gaelic ...
1
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2answers
689 views
How to spell what sounds like “ish” or “eesh”? [duplicate]
I've heard this word a lot of times, but still don't know how to write it down. It's used when you want to show some kind of disgust, or something like that. It sounds like "ish" or "eesh".
I've ...
11
votes
4answers
629 views
When did Monkeys start making wrenches?
Why is the pipe wrench often called a monkey wrench?
From the Ferris State University Jim Crow Museum website…
Q: Did Jack Johnson invent the wrench?
A: Jack Johnson, the first Black ...
16
votes
2answers
4k views
Is “snitty” a popular American English term? What is its origin?
I came to know the word, “snitty” for the first time from the remark of Mr. William Barr during his testimony on his way of handling of Mueller Report in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Washington ...
0
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3answers
66 views
Un-sunken or equivalent
What is the word for something that didn't sink.
Example: Can we say "the un-sunken boat" for the boat didn't sink?
Couldn't find anything in internet by search engines.
Thanks.
5
votes
2answers
872 views
In search of the origins of term censor, I hit a dead end stuck with the greek term, to censor, λογοκρίνω
I have been looking in OED for a history that makes sense, yet, I just find crumbs, and I can not piece the history of this term. I am hitting a dead end researching the greek term to censor, named ...
9
votes
3answers
864 views
The etymology of “snooze”
I was looking up the etymology of the word snooze, and the Etymology Online suggested it was unknown.
1789, cant word, of unknown origin, perhaps echoic of a snore. Related: Snoozed; snoozing. ...
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votes
1answer
152 views
Is a 'Protagonist' really a thing or is it a misnomer derived from it's opposite 'Antagonist'? [closed]
I ask because in anatomy and fitness the muscle groups can defined in three categories for a given workout: Agonist (the main muscle being worked), Antagonist (the muscle group that would work the ...
1
vote
2answers
140 views
How do you parse “hair do”
Is "do" understood as a noun or verb in "hair do"?
Asking this in search of "to make do".
Bonus points if it can be related to German Tolle "tuft [of hair], that thing that Elvis had on his head", ...
2
votes
2answers
725 views
“Tinkle contest with a skunk”
What does the following idiom mean: "Tinkle contest with a skunk". And where was this idiom first used ? Does anybody know the origin??
Example:
Yesterday, in an unsuccessful attempt to ...
15
votes
8answers
15k views
Origin, meaning, and derivation of 'boof' as a verb in U.S. slang
Recently, the following entry included in a page from a 1983 yearbook for a high school in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area has gained considerable notoriety in U.S. politics:
Judge — Have You ...
7
votes
1answer
515 views
What connection (if any) is there in Australian slang between 'dinkum' and 'dink' (meaning a ride on bicycle handlebars)?
In an answer to the recent question, What is the American equivalent of a "backie"? site participant Chappo notes that in Australia the word dink is sometimes used as a noun to mean "a ...
1
vote
1answer
290 views
When and where was the word “backup” used in this form for the first time?
What is the etymology of the word "backup" (in the meaning of "a file copy" in computing)? I can't find the origin and the first using of this word in this very meaning. Why is "backup" so called?
...
26
votes
2answers
5k views
“-ia” in country names
Many countries have "land" in the end of it.
like England, Poland, Switzerland, etc.
which means the land of the English, the land of the Swiss, etc.
Many other countries have "stan" in the end of it
...
3
votes
1answer
199 views
Origin of “surf”
I was thinking of the song Hawaii by The Beach Boys (which most of you probably do not know) when I came across the lyrics
They'll hold the Surfing Championship of the year
Surfer ...
7
votes
1answer
704 views
Origin of “curse”
I am reading a Harry Potter book and came across the word "curse". I realized I had no idea what the origin of "curse" was. I searched it up and below are my search results.
of uncertain origin
...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Origin of the word “jack” to mean theft or to steal
This is my very first query/post. I was attempting to find out the history in American slang for using the word jack to mean theft. In a sentence it might be Someone jacked my bike last night. I had ...
9
votes
3answers
952 views
What is the origin of 'fuddy-duddy'?
I was surprised to find that the EL&U spellchecker refused 'fuddy-duddy' and was disappointed not to find any further information in the EL&U archives, so I branched out on my own.
Phrases....
4
votes
1answer
317 views
Does 'doolally' have an alternate AmE meaning to the BrE?
The meaning of 'doolally' and 'doolally tap' originating from the Indian town of Deolali ('tap' being a reference to tapa, the Sanskrit word for fever) have been well documented on EL&U.
But a ...
14
votes
2answers
3k views
“legal beagle” vs. “legal eagle”
Both legal beagle and legal eagle are informal terms for a smart, eagle-eyed attorney or lawyer. Someone who is a stickler for the rules, and who thrives on the minutiae of the law.
Oxford ...
2
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2answers
8k views
Why does “tar” mean “thank you”? [duplicate]
I was wondering on where the origins of the word tar to mean thank you came from. I have reached tar and have come up with this definition
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of ...
11
votes
2answers
4k views
What is the origin of the phrase “bad blood”?
I recently met someone who used this in the following way:
...you know I want to keep a good relationship with them. I told them I don't want any bad blood between us.
I'd never heard this before, ...
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0answers
102 views
Financial Use of Word : SECURITY
To be a man of better literate in Finance, learning some basic concepts regarding financial assets.
One seemingly quite confusing is, the concept of "Security"
When people think of security, it is ...
0
votes
1answer
646 views
What's the origin of “if it's worth writing, it's worth rewriting”? [closed]
I'm sure someone famous and wise once said, about writing either prose or software source code, that:
If it's worth writing, it's worth re-writing.
meaning that one shouldn't avoid going ahead and ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the origin of the use of “bung” as a bribe
'Bung' has a few uses in English.
It is a stopper of a bottle.
It to throw.
But also it is a bribe or enticement.
The word bung seems to have become less popular over time (after a staggering peak ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the origin of the expression “riding a hobby horse”?
I am curious about the origin of the expression of a "riding" a "hobby horse" (or "stick horse", as it is in Danish — we have the exact same expression) as an idiom for a 'pet topic' or 'fixed idea'.
...
9
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2answers
1k views
When was the term “Web site” (or “website”) first used?
I've been researching the origins of the World Wide Web, so basically sifting through CERN reports and Usenet posts from 1989-1993, but I've noticed that the terms "Web site," "website," "web-site," ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Origin and Etymology of Kush/Cush in regards to animals
I came across this word in this YouTube video (queued to example) and was curious about the origin.
Example image of an alpaca kushing.
I can't find the definition as defined in the linked image in ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Origin and history of “spinning jenny”
The origin of spinning jenny (the cotton-spinning machine invented by James Hargreaves) always seemed to me to be named after a person called Jenny. However, as I was reading Etymology for Everyone by ...
4
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1answer
4k views
What is the origin of the idiom/phrase “Heroes never die”?
I've been bothered by some guy on my online gaming server that kept spamming the phrase "Heroes never die" for quite some time during last weekend before he was banned.
To clear my mind of this ...
0
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5answers
1k views
What is the origin of the term “library” (in programming sense)?
If you talk about a library to any computer programmer today, the image they will most likely conjure up is of some software package, a body of helpful and reusable functions they can link and call to ...
0
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2answers
14k views
What is the origin of the quote, “You can satisfy some of the people all the time…"?
"...and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot satisfy all of the people all the time”? I have seen it attributed to John Lydgate, Abe Lincoln and PT Barnum.
5
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4answers
858 views
What is the origin of “bend the rules”?
A while ago, I read somewhere that the origin of bend the rules is attributed to a tool called lesbian rule
.............................
To adjust to arbitrary curved shapes a flexible rule (...
