RANDOM THOUGHTS #40
Steve Cole muses: Just thinking to himself about where some common words came from.
1. Afraid comes from the old English word affray, which means to startle someone who was resting or asleep, with no real connotation of fear.
2. Most armies of the Middle Ages used the phrase "to arms" to mean "the enemy is here, get your weapons." For some reason, the Italian version (alle arme) became the one every army used and it is now the word "alarm."
3. The ancient Egyptians had kohl, a black powder used as eye shadow. This was used by many countries, and came into European use from the Arabic al kohl. English writers, not realizing that the al was a separate word (the), combined this to produce the word alcohol, which meant any fine powder. Chemists used terms such as "an alcohol of sulfur." By 1500, the word had somehow come to mean "superbly refined." By 1700, the best wine was known as "alcohol of wine" and from there it was a short step to the current usage.
4. Italian armies of the Middle Ages used the term "alla erta" to mean "on duty on the watchtower" and this eventually came into English as "alert."
5. Alimony does not mean "all the money" but instead is just a contraction of the Roman word "alimentum" which means "nourishment."
6. The old world has several species of crocodiles, although only in Africa. (These things are, in fact, older than dinosaurs, and twice were the dominant land animal, only to lose out to dinosaurs and then mammals.) When Spanish explorers reached Florida and the Mississippi River, they came upon several different species of the same general beast, but used the familiar term "el lagarto" which means "the lizard." Spanish, like Arabic, puts the word "the" in front of every noun for some reason, and Englishmen don't realize that the "al" or "el" isn't part of the word, so this came into English as alligator.
7. Until 1700, the word "one" was pronounced "own" which is why we have "alone" (all one) and "only."
8. The ancient Greeks who fought the Trojan War were actually the Mycenaeans, who were in Greece before the current Greeks showed up. The Mycenaeans explored widely, and came into contact with tribes which lived around the Black Sea, one of which supposedly consisted entirely of women. (Graves found in Asia in the last decade or two containing women of large stature buried with weapons and gold seem to confirm such tribes existed, or at least that some warrior women existed.) Homer called this tribe "Amazons" which means "without breast" because (Homer said) the women had their right breasts surgically removed to allow them to use a bow. (There is no historical evidence to support this, and modern women Olympic athletes seem to use a bow just fine without this sacrifice.) In 1541, a Spanish explorer (Orellana) was paddling up a large river in South America when attacked by a native tribe. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men, so Orellana named the tribe Amazons. (Contrary to myth, he was under no illusion that these were the same tribe who met the Greeks.) The next wave of Spanish explorers referred to the river by the tribe's name.
9. Ambiguous comes from two Roman words, ambigo (around) and ago (drive a chariot). The original term had a precise meaning, that being to drive your chariot around an unfamiliar area with poorly marked (or non-existent) roads looking for some sign of the destination you are seeking. Today, of course, it means "vague" which certainly applies to an unfamiliar area with poorly marked locations.
10. Ambition comes from that same Latin ambigo, and the word eo, which means to go or to walk. The word referred to what a politician seeking votes did, i.e., go around the town and talk to voters, explain his views, and ask for their support. Thus, a man who had ambition was a man asking for people to vote for him in the next election.
1. Afraid comes from the old English word affray, which means to startle someone who was resting or asleep, with no real connotation of fear.
2. Most armies of the Middle Ages used the phrase "to arms" to mean "the enemy is here, get your weapons." For some reason, the Italian version (alle arme) became the one every army used and it is now the word "alarm."
3. The ancient Egyptians had kohl, a black powder used as eye shadow. This was used by many countries, and came into European use from the Arabic al kohl. English writers, not realizing that the al was a separate word (the), combined this to produce the word alcohol, which meant any fine powder. Chemists used terms such as "an alcohol of sulfur." By 1500, the word had somehow come to mean "superbly refined." By 1700, the best wine was known as "alcohol of wine" and from there it was a short step to the current usage.
4. Italian armies of the Middle Ages used the term "alla erta" to mean "on duty on the watchtower" and this eventually came into English as "alert."
5. Alimony does not mean "all the money" but instead is just a contraction of the Roman word "alimentum" which means "nourishment."
6. The old world has several species of crocodiles, although only in Africa. (These things are, in fact, older than dinosaurs, and twice were the dominant land animal, only to lose out to dinosaurs and then mammals.) When Spanish explorers reached Florida and the Mississippi River, they came upon several different species of the same general beast, but used the familiar term "el lagarto" which means "the lizard." Spanish, like Arabic, puts the word "the" in front of every noun for some reason, and Englishmen don't realize that the "al" or "el" isn't part of the word, so this came into English as alligator.
7. Until 1700, the word "one" was pronounced "own" which is why we have "alone" (all one) and "only."
8. The ancient Greeks who fought the Trojan War were actually the Mycenaeans, who were in Greece before the current Greeks showed up. The Mycenaeans explored widely, and came into contact with tribes which lived around the Black Sea, one of which supposedly consisted entirely of women. (Graves found in Asia in the last decade or two containing women of large stature buried with weapons and gold seem to confirm such tribes existed, or at least that some warrior women existed.) Homer called this tribe "Amazons" which means "without breast" because (Homer said) the women had their right breasts surgically removed to allow them to use a bow. (There is no historical evidence to support this, and modern women Olympic athletes seem to use a bow just fine without this sacrifice.) In 1541, a Spanish explorer (Orellana) was paddling up a large river in South America when attacked by a native tribe. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men, so Orellana named the tribe Amazons. (Contrary to myth, he was under no illusion that these were the same tribe who met the Greeks.) The next wave of Spanish explorers referred to the river by the tribe's name.
9. Ambiguous comes from two Roman words, ambigo (around) and ago (drive a chariot). The original term had a precise meaning, that being to drive your chariot around an unfamiliar area with poorly marked (or non-existent) roads looking for some sign of the destination you are seeking. Today, of course, it means "vague" which certainly applies to an unfamiliar area with poorly marked locations.
10. Ambition comes from that same Latin ambigo, and the word eo, which means to go or to walk. The word referred to what a politician seeking votes did, i.e., go around the town and talk to voters, explain his views, and ask for their support. Thus, a man who had ambition was a man asking for people to vote for him in the next election.
posted by Federation Commander at 6:44 AM
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