RANDOM THOUGHTS #77
Steve Cole muses: Just thinking to himself about the curious origins of common words.
1. Caterpillar comes from the French chatepelose (hairy cat) which is what French children call fuzzy caterpillars.
2. Caucus, a political gathering, has a disputed meaning. It first came into use in 1736 in Boston, when certain influential citizens (including John Adams) would gather to discuss political situations and how they were going to influence the outcomes. Where they got the word, nobody knows for sure. Some think it comes from the Algonquin Indians, where caucawasu meant counselor. Others think it is a confusion of Caulker, since some of the original members were ship builders who were known as Caulkers because part of their industry was to caulk ships. It is known that there was a section of Boston known as West Corcus, although no one can find a record of Central Corcus or any other Corcus. Another theory is that it was the initials of six members, although one of the six men was 12 years old at the time (but it might have referred to the little known father of a better known city leader).
3. Chancellor, the highest official under a king, or another term for prime minister, comes from the Roman cancellarius, the usher who stood at the cancelli, the lattice railing that kept the general public at a distance from the officials of the court. The term quickly evolved from the lowliest of officials to the highest in the post-Roman empire German kingdoms, although no one knows why.
4. Chaperone, a married lady who sees to the virtue of a younger lady when she receives young gentleman callers, comes from the French chape, or hood. French nobles of the Middle Ages wore such a hood, and chaperone was simply a smaller version of the chape. English nobles adopted the hood in 1349, but discarded it two centuries later. Some noble ladies in England, Spain, and elsewhere had adopted the chaperone hood as a means of being demure, and the "having a chaperone" meant "having one of those old ladies who wears a chaperone" with you.
5. Chapel and Chaplain come from the old Frankish capella, a word for cloak. Saint Martin of Tours preformed many miracles during his lifetime, and many were credited to his intervention after his death in 400 AD. The oldest story of Saint Martin was that, while a young soldier, he had come across a beggar shivering in the cold. Martin used his sword to cut his cloak in half, giving half to the beggar. The half-cloak (which Martin carried with him until he retired from the army and became a monk, then a bishop) was preserved as a holy relic, and carried into battle by Frankish armies. While on campaign, the half-cloak relic was kept safe in a tent known as the capella tent, attended by priests known as the capellani. When French replaced Frankish, these terms became chapele and chapelain. Soldiers who were troubled would go to the chapele to pray in the presence of the holy half-cloak relic, and sometimes received spiritual advice and comfort from the chapelains. Priests had accompanied armies for centuries (doing this same duty) and the term gradually extended to any place one could go pray and to any priest who gave a soldier advice and comfort.
6. Chapter, a division of a book or a smaller group of a larger organization, comes from the Latin capitulum, which always meant a division of a book. The second meaning came because groups of priests or other religious people would, at their meetings, read a chapter of the bible. Particular chapters were used to set the tone for whatever business was to be conducted, and the equivalent of "standing committees" always read their favorite chapter. Hence, the term for a division of a book of the bible became the term for a smaller unit of a fraternity or other organization.
7. Charity comes from the Latin word caritas, which means brotherly or neighborly love, or Christian love. Saint Jerome, who translated the bible from Greek into Latin in the fourth century, was uncomfortable translating the Greek word agape into the Latin amor (romantic love) and instead used caritas to avoid any sexual overtones. It's one short step from caritas to charity.
8. Chattel (and cattle and financial capital) all come from the Latin word capitale, which meant the portable property of an individual. For English peasants, this was mostly livestock. (They did not own the land they lived and worked on, but leased it from lords.) Over the years, the word evolved into all three meanings.
9. Chauffeur, a driver for a limousine, is the French word for fireman. It was originally applied to those who fed the fires of steam engines on ships (and later, trains).
10. Chauvinism actually referred to extreme hero worship before being used in the phrase "male chauvinist pig" to refer to any man who thought women should be subservient in society. It comes from Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier in Napoleon's army who was wounded 17 times and spent his retirement telling everyone how great, glorious, bold, heroic, and just plain brilliant that Napoleon was. (As he has a hero's pension from the Army, he did not have to work, and was a fixture in the local tavern.) He had become an institution (and a laughingstock) in his village because he would speak of nothing other than his hero, Napoleon. Two French playwrights who were writing a play about Napoleon (La cocarde tricolore) included him as a character. The play was a smash hit and the character Chauvin became famous, and his name became the word for excessive hero worship. The feminist movement found the long-forgotten word and incorporated it (perhaps awkwardly) into their famous catchphrase.
1. Caterpillar comes from the French chatepelose (hairy cat) which is what French children call fuzzy caterpillars.
2. Caucus, a political gathering, has a disputed meaning. It first came into use in 1736 in Boston, when certain influential citizens (including John Adams) would gather to discuss political situations and how they were going to influence the outcomes. Where they got the word, nobody knows for sure. Some think it comes from the Algonquin Indians, where caucawasu meant counselor. Others think it is a confusion of Caulker, since some of the original members were ship builders who were known as Caulkers because part of their industry was to caulk ships. It is known that there was a section of Boston known as West Corcus, although no one can find a record of Central Corcus or any other Corcus. Another theory is that it was the initials of six members, although one of the six men was 12 years old at the time (but it might have referred to the little known father of a better known city leader).
3. Chancellor, the highest official under a king, or another term for prime minister, comes from the Roman cancellarius, the usher who stood at the cancelli, the lattice railing that kept the general public at a distance from the officials of the court. The term quickly evolved from the lowliest of officials to the highest in the post-Roman empire German kingdoms, although no one knows why.
4. Chaperone, a married lady who sees to the virtue of a younger lady when she receives young gentleman callers, comes from the French chape, or hood. French nobles of the Middle Ages wore such a hood, and chaperone was simply a smaller version of the chape. English nobles adopted the hood in 1349, but discarded it two centuries later. Some noble ladies in England, Spain, and elsewhere had adopted the chaperone hood as a means of being demure, and the "having a chaperone" meant "having one of those old ladies who wears a chaperone" with you.
5. Chapel and Chaplain come from the old Frankish capella, a word for cloak. Saint Martin of Tours preformed many miracles during his lifetime, and many were credited to his intervention after his death in 400 AD. The oldest story of Saint Martin was that, while a young soldier, he had come across a beggar shivering in the cold. Martin used his sword to cut his cloak in half, giving half to the beggar. The half-cloak (which Martin carried with him until he retired from the army and became a monk, then a bishop) was preserved as a holy relic, and carried into battle by Frankish armies. While on campaign, the half-cloak relic was kept safe in a tent known as the capella tent, attended by priests known as the capellani. When French replaced Frankish, these terms became chapele and chapelain. Soldiers who were troubled would go to the chapele to pray in the presence of the holy half-cloak relic, and sometimes received spiritual advice and comfort from the chapelains. Priests had accompanied armies for centuries (doing this same duty) and the term gradually extended to any place one could go pray and to any priest who gave a soldier advice and comfort.
6. Chapter, a division of a book or a smaller group of a larger organization, comes from the Latin capitulum, which always meant a division of a book. The second meaning came because groups of priests or other religious people would, at their meetings, read a chapter of the bible. Particular chapters were used to set the tone for whatever business was to be conducted, and the equivalent of "standing committees" always read their favorite chapter. Hence, the term for a division of a book of the bible became the term for a smaller unit of a fraternity or other organization.
7. Charity comes from the Latin word caritas, which means brotherly or neighborly love, or Christian love. Saint Jerome, who translated the bible from Greek into Latin in the fourth century, was uncomfortable translating the Greek word agape into the Latin amor (romantic love) and instead used caritas to avoid any sexual overtones. It's one short step from caritas to charity.
8. Chattel (and cattle and financial capital) all come from the Latin word capitale, which meant the portable property of an individual. For English peasants, this was mostly livestock. (They did not own the land they lived and worked on, but leased it from lords.) Over the years, the word evolved into all three meanings.
9. Chauffeur, a driver for a limousine, is the French word for fireman. It was originally applied to those who fed the fires of steam engines on ships (and later, trains).
10. Chauvinism actually referred to extreme hero worship before being used in the phrase "male chauvinist pig" to refer to any man who thought women should be subservient in society. It comes from Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier in Napoleon's army who was wounded 17 times and spent his retirement telling everyone how great, glorious, bold, heroic, and just plain brilliant that Napoleon was. (As he has a hero's pension from the Army, he did not have to work, and was a fixture in the local tavern.) He had become an institution (and a laughingstock) in his village because he would speak of nothing other than his hero, Napoleon. Two French playwrights who were writing a play about Napoleon (La cocarde tricolore) included him as a character. The play was a smash hit and the character Chauvin became famous, and his name became the word for excessive hero worship. The feminist movement found the long-forgotten word and incorporated it (perhaps awkwardly) into their famous catchphrase.
posted by Federation Commander at 9:44 AM
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