RANDOM THOUGHTS #52: WORDS
Steve Cole muses: Just thinking to himself about the curious origins of common words.
1. AUBURN (reddish brown) is the old Norman word for blonde, which they used to refer to the hair of the Saxons that they conquered.
2. AUGUST (the month) was named for Octavian (the nephew of Julius Caesar and first Roman emperor). The word august means "honored" and Octavian was named Augustus by the Roman Senate to reflect his new status as emperor.
3. AUSPICES (authority or blessing) is from two old Latin words that meant bird-watcher. The auspices were government employees assigned to watch the flights of birds since common myth at the time assumed that such things indicated if an upcoming decision or program was likely to succeed or not.
4. BABBITT (and alloy of copper, tin, and antimony used for bearings in large high-speed engines) was named for Isaac Babbitt, the metallurgist who invented it.
5. BALLIWICK (area of responsibility or authority) comes from the old words bailiff (a government official in charge of a village) and wick (the old English word for village).
6. BAKELLITE (one of the oldest forms of plastic, still used today in industrial applications as it will not transmit heat or electricity) was named for its inventor, Leo Baekeland.
7. BALLOT is the old Italian word for little ball, which is how the oldest elections were conducted.
8. BALLOON is the old Italian word for a large ball. The oldest form of soccer, rugby, and American football (400 years ago) was called balloon and involved kicking or throwing a very large ball around in a field.
9. BANDANNA (a sort of scarf) was the Indian word for "tie dying" or taking a piece of cloth, tying it knots, and then dipping it in dye so that the color varied in a nice pattern. It came to us by way of Portuguese traders.
10. BANKRUPT comes from two Italian words meaning broken bench. From ancient times to the middle ages, money changers (and lenders) conducted their business from a bench in a public forum. (The Italian word banca became our word bank.) The Italian rotta (broken) came into English via the Latin rupta. When a banker could not meet his obligations, the town officials would break up his bench to signify that he was no longer allowed to conduct business.
1. AUBURN (reddish brown) is the old Norman word for blonde, which they used to refer to the hair of the Saxons that they conquered.
2. AUGUST (the month) was named for Octavian (the nephew of Julius Caesar and first Roman emperor). The word august means "honored" and Octavian was named Augustus by the Roman Senate to reflect his new status as emperor.
3. AUSPICES (authority or blessing) is from two old Latin words that meant bird-watcher. The auspices were government employees assigned to watch the flights of birds since common myth at the time assumed that such things indicated if an upcoming decision or program was likely to succeed or not.
4. BABBITT (and alloy of copper, tin, and antimony used for bearings in large high-speed engines) was named for Isaac Babbitt, the metallurgist who invented it.
5. BALLIWICK (area of responsibility or authority) comes from the old words bailiff (a government official in charge of a village) and wick (the old English word for village).
6. BAKELLITE (one of the oldest forms of plastic, still used today in industrial applications as it will not transmit heat or electricity) was named for its inventor, Leo Baekeland.
7. BALLOT is the old Italian word for little ball, which is how the oldest elections were conducted.
8. BALLOON is the old Italian word for a large ball. The oldest form of soccer, rugby, and American football (400 years ago) was called balloon and involved kicking or throwing a very large ball around in a field.
9. BANDANNA (a sort of scarf) was the Indian word for "tie dying" or taking a piece of cloth, tying it knots, and then dipping it in dye so that the color varied in a nice pattern. It came to us by way of Portuguese traders.
10. BANKRUPT comes from two Italian words meaning broken bench. From ancient times to the middle ages, money changers (and lenders) conducted their business from a bench in a public forum. (The Italian word banca became our word bank.) The Italian rotta (broken) came into English via the Latin rupta. When a banker could not meet his obligations, the town officials would break up his bench to signify that he was no longer allowed to conduct business.
posted by Federation Commander at 10:20 AM
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