Cappuccino

Cappuccino is defined as "espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream." The word is adopted from the same word in Italian, cappuccino. Originally, a cappucino was a "long pointed cowl." The cowl was adopted by the "Capuchin order of friars. . .as part of the order's habit." In Italy the drink's resemblance to the Capuchin order's habit spawned today's usage of cappuccino, as "espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream."

Sources: AHD for definition and word history
Images: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/images/img/cappuccino-cup.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBPNlaWWYMHoEnfT56o9HuyKCecsYr9QnGbc3Hk2yTBlW7vGe3URThioc_WThqoodTKtadPacTrTwLwZ6ORGVBGSJOuooD8yTZy96Iy-Sr9T9Xjnz-nmXHDeMuNASGp5n4-eW6GOkYr8/s320/fidelissig.jpg

acme

For those of you who also watched Looney Tunes religiously when you were kids, you'll remember that the Acme Corporation provided Wile E. Coyote with the tools he used to try and catch the Road Runner. Of course, these products, whether they were anvils or dynamite, never worked out for Wile E. Coyote. I like that the Warner Bros. had a sense of irony, since "acme" is defined as "the highest point, as of achievement of development" (AHD). This word comes straight from the Greek word "akme," which goes back to the Indo-European root "ak-," meaning "sharp" (AHD). Further research shows that acme can also be defined as "the point of extreme violence of a disease, the crisis," which is an archaic definition but one that (somewhat) more aptly suits the endeavors of a certain cartoon prairie wolf (OED).

determined

As a kid, I mistakenly insisted that this adjective was pronounced ‘deter-minded’ because of its meaning: “marked by or showing determination; resolute; decided or resolved” (AHD). Determine originates in the Latin determinare, “to limit,” from de-, “down, away from,” and terminus (the source of our termin- stem, meaning "end, limit"), “boundary.” The Latin determinare was passed into Old French as determinere, then into Middle English as determinen. Given my childhood mix-up, I’d be interested to learn more about the historical progression of this word’s pronunciation. Incidentally the OED demonstrates that determined was not used in the sense of "resolved (to do something)" until 1513. Before then, the force of determine was different, and more likely, closer to its literal etymological meaning: in 1374, it was used as “to come to an end; cease to exist; expire, die;” in 1380, “to settle (a dispute);” in 1398, “to bound, limit.”

Tweak

The AHD defines "tweak" as a verb and a noun. Defined as a verb tweak may mean " to pinch, pluck, twist sharply; to adjust, or fine tune." It may also be used " to make fun of; tease." When defined as a noun, tweak is "a sharp twisting pinch, or as a teasing action; joke." "Tweak" originated from the Old English word twiccian, and came through Middle English via twikken from the variation twick before becoming its modern day form.

Caterpillar

This week's word was suggested by my friend Sarah.



As I'm sure everyone knows, a caterpillar is "a wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth" (AHD). What's really interesting about this word, of course, is its etymology. The word caterpillar arrived in Middle English as catirpel, catirpeller. The AHD tells us that it's probably an alteration of the Old North French *catepelose which is made up of cate (meaning "cat", coming from the Latin cattus, meaning the same thing) and pelose (meaning "hairy", coming from Latin pilosus). So, by now, you're probably wondering why a little worm-like larvae would be called a "hairy cat". Well, the AHD is so nice as to give us a little word history story below the definition. It reads as follows:
"Larvae of moths and butterflies are popularly seen as resembling other, larger animals.
Our word caterpillar appears to have come from the Old French term chatepelose,
meaning 'hairy cat'. Caterpillar is first recorded in English in 1440 as catyrpel. Catyr,
the first part of catyrpel, may indicate the existence of an English word *cater, meaning
'tomcat', otherwise attested only in caterwaul. The latter part of catyrpel seems to
have become associated with the word piller, "plunderer". By giving the variant spelling
-ar, Johnson's Dictionary set the spelling caterpillar with which we are familiar today."
Interesting! I still don't quite understand why larvae of moths and butterflies should be associated with other, larger animals, but so is the craziness of culture sometimes

Image from: http://tomoki.tea-nifty.com/tomokilog/images/VERY_HUNGRY_CATERPILLAR.jpg

eczema

The AHD defines eczema as "a noncontagious inflammation of ones skin, characterized chiefly by redness, itching, and the outbreak of lesions." I have no positive associations with this word (particularly at this moment) but its etymology is actually kind of cool. The word in the original Greek, ekzein, means "to boil over", as ek means "out" and zein means "boil" (AHD). Sure, it's gross, but it's also appropriate to the purpose: the bumps on the skin are like bubbles breaking the surface of boiling water.

freegan

This word is so new that it's not in the OED or AHD. Freegan can be a noun (denoting a person who tries to live off scavenged/discarded/unpurchased resources as much as possible) or a it can be an adjective (describing someone--or something--related to trying to live off scavenged/discarded/unpurchased resources as much as possible). A critique of consumerism and its consequences is usually inherent in freegan activities. For one view of freeganism, see http://freegan.info/.

Freegan is a blend of free and vegan (though not all freegans are vegans). The word seems to be in circulation by the late 1990s, since (according to Wikipedia at least) Warren Oakes published a pamphlet entitled "Why Freegan?" in 1999.

And for the record, two disclaimers:

I'm not talking about the word as a way of advocating the freegan cause; my interest here is in the word itself as a relatively new item in English vocabulary.

and

Normally I cross-check any information I get from Wikipedia, but since this word isn't catalogued by more traditional references yet, I couldn't.

Poohbah

If you attended the Hendrix Players' production of Hot Mikado last week, you may have noticed a character named Pooh-Bah, who serves in various government roles (in fact all of them except the Lord High Executioner; he is "the Lord High Everything Else"). Hot Mikado is a somewhat updated adaptation of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's Opperetta the Mikado, and naturally the original also features the character. From this nonsensical, silly, pretend-Japanese name, we derive the word "poobah" meaning, according to the AHD "A pompous or ostentatious official, especially one who performs none of many offices held" or more generally "A person who holds high office." This word is still used, especially in the latter sense; you might hear a powerful leader be jokingly referred to as "the grand poohbah."

snorkel

"Snorkel" is defined as, "a breathing apparatus used by swimmers and skin divers, consisting of a long tube held in the mouth" (AHD). It is also said to be "a retractable vertical tube in a submarine that contains air-in-take and exhaust pipes permitting extended periods of submergence at periscope depth" (AHD). A more in-depth description is offered by a 1950 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, which states that the snorkel was "invented by the Dutch, stolen by the Nazis and perfected by the U.S. Navy, [...] the snorkel has revolutionized naval warfare" (OED). Funny how a word that so many people identify with an innocent beach-vacation pastime was politically charged at one point. "Snorkel" comes from the German word "schnorchel," which means "nose," or the "resemblance in shape to a nose" (AHD).
-AHD and OED

Funk

Our AHD gives two definitions for the word funk. The first definition is for a state of cowerdly fright, panic, or a severe depression, or a cowardly person. The second definition is for an "earthy" musical style, syncopated, and with a bass line.

An etymology is given for the first definition, probably obsolete Flemish, fanck, but none is given for the second definition. The OED online suggests that the musical definition goes back to a meaning of funk that has to do with things being smelly, or earthy, or smoky.

Indeed, interesting things to think of during my visit home for Mardi Gras. New Orleans has been the home to some of the funkiest music around.

Hat

Well, I suppose it was really only a matter of time before curiosity would get the better of me on this one.
Hats. We all know what hats are; For purposes of being formal, the American Heritage Dictionary defines a hat as "A covering for the head, especially one with a shaped crown and brim", among other meanings. Many of us have hats, or enjoy seeing hats, or have built a recognizable character trait off of hats, so on and so forth. However, where precisely does this wondrous word originate in our language?

Turns out that the hat, unfortunately, does not have a very long and celebrated heritage: it comes, quite simply, from the word haet or haett in both Middle and Old English.(AHD) I found this quite disappointing.

Marriage

My roommate and I had a discussion earlier in the evening about gay rights, during which he took a fairly conservative stance on the subject and said that he was "fine with gay rights, as long as they hold to the actual definition of marriage and not call it same-sex marriage." In an attempt to prove some sort of point, I decided to look up the definition of marriage.

The AHD defines marriage as "the legal union of a man and a woman, a husband and wife", a definition my roommate would agree with. Then the AHD turns around and provides another definition: "a union of two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage", also know as a same-sex marriage.

The OED defines marriage as "the condition of being a husband or wife; the relation between persons married to each other; matrimony", but also states that this term is now sometimes used to decribe long-term relationships between partners of the same sex. Marriage is also defined as "the bland or merger of two things".

I did not set out to necessarily prove my roommate wrong. My intention was more so to show that the meanings of some words are gradually changing, even though their definitions are controversial and/or debated.

Marriage comes from the ME word mariage, which was derived from the OFr. verb marier, which means "to marry".

Havelock

Havelock is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as "a cloth covering for a cap, having a flap to cover and protect the back of the neck."  The Oxford English Dictionary specifies the color of the fabric for havelocks as white.  This covering is named after Major-General Sir Henry Havelock.  Sir Havelock was stationed in India where the sun was a problem for the British forces.  It is not evident if Sir Havelock had a hand in creating havelocks, but I assume it was named after him simply because of his work in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The Oxford English Dictionary shows the first use of the work havelock in literature was by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1861, "He is a fine-looking man with black eyes and hair, set off by a white havelock."  The last use of the term listed in the OED is from Harper's Magazine in 1880 as a reference to fashion, "A poncho and havelock cap comprise the rubber clothing outfit."  

Sources:  American Heritage College Dictionary 4th Edition, Oxford English Dictionary

Apathy

Apathy, according to the AHD, is "lack of interest or concern, esp. in matters of general importance or appeal; indifference" or "lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness". It comes from the Latin apathia which itself comes from the Greek apatheia from apathes which means "without feeling". It's composed of the prefix a- meaning without and the root -pathos meaning feeling. It's origins stay very true to it's modern usage as apathy is a lack of feeling. I find it interesting how many people often use apathy and ambivalence fairly interchangeably. While they both imply a lack of a firm stance or decision one way or the other, they are very far apart when one actually looks at them. The one means to have feelings both ways, while the other means to have no feelings either way.

-American Heritage Dictionary

Gait/Gate

My friend tried to use this word the other day, and I put his usage of it to question. So I thought it only fair to look it up. I mean this word in the sense of, as the OED says:

"Manner of walking or stepping, bearing or carriage while moving, walk, step. Also fig., esp in phr. to go one's (own) gait, to go one's own way; to pursue one's own course."

The ultimate etymology of this word isn't really known. It's given connection with Old Norse, Old High German, Old Irish, and a few other languages. It is thought that it might come from the root *ghad which means "to go." I don't know why this seemingly poetic word has gone out of usage, but I admire my friend in his determination to bring the old school back.

Scuttlebutt

From its delightful pronunciation to its etymology, this word provides a lot of fodder for amusement. Its use in slang is "gossip" or "rumor." For example, someone may ask, "What's the scuttlebutt?" Its technical definiticon, though, is "a drinking fountain on a ship" or perhaps "a cask on a ship for the day's supply of drinking water." Given the cliché about office gossip being exchanged around the water cooler, the slang seems rather apt.

Source: AHD

Feisty/Feist

Surely you know someone who you would describe as feisty, and you might mean it as a sincere complement. The American Heritage Dictionary defines feisty as an adjective meaning "1. Touchy; quarrelsome. 2. Full of spirit or pluck; frisky or spunky." This usage is employed all over the US today. The word feist in the Southern United States is also used to refer to "a small, mixed-breed dog" and typically carries the additional connotation of a "snappy, nervous, belligerent little dog." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this canine usage first appeared in the Bartlett Dictionary of Americanisms in 1860, spelled as fiste. It came from the Middle English fisting, meaning "a breaking wind, foul smell, stink." The OED cites this usage as appearing as early as 1440.

I realize that the modern usage of "feisty" carries some gender bias as well. As I sit here, I cannot conjure a memory in which I heard a man referred to as feisty. I only seem to remember this term being applied to a woman, myself included, but never as a rude comment. The innocuous comment "wow, you're acting really feisty today" would never lead me to believe that someone is telling me that I stink like a dog, but just that I'm a little charged up. Still, I think I might opt to recycle this word out of my vocabulary, since I will everfore remember that the term etymologically relegates the addressee to the realm of stinky, yappy dogs and flatulence. However, I have no plans to stop listening to Leslie Feist's music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvOOegxKIoI

Fugue

I love music! Who doesn't? Sitting down tonight, pressed to come up with a word (which always happens), I turned to my friends to come up with one. Of course, they played the "hey, let's just close our eyes and yell out 1000000000000 different words" game. However, one was eventually yelled out that seemed to spark something inside of me. Naturally, it dealt with music.

Fugue, a noun, is defined by the illustrious AHD as "an imitative polyphonic composition in which a theme or themes are stated successively in all of the voices of the contrapuntal structure." In other words, it is a set of themes expressed as a round within a piece (traditionally within classical pieces). Fugue comes from the Italian word fuga, which was influenced by the French word fugue. Fuga came from Latin, where it originally meant "flight." A fugue usually appears in the middle of a piece, and it usually ends on a soaring high-point. In a way, it is kind of like watching the piece learn to fly (with all the little themes going off one after another), and it ends with the whole thing being placed together in one motion that seems to lift the music right off the ground....very reminiscent of flight.


Oh, and as an aside:

Fugu fish actually exist. It's mind blowing, I know. Also, they are all poisonous pufferfish.
"Swim away fugu fish, swim away!!!!" ~ Charlie the Unicorn 2

pomegranate // GRENADE!

Pomegranates sure are hip, huh?
Why do you think that is?

It seems that the pomegranate, a once obscure (and might I add frustrating) fruit, has become America's most popular overpriced juice candy flavor.

Personally, I think it's ridiculous for fruits to be candidates for fads, in the first place.

And while I might have to endure oh-so-vogue bubblegum flavors like "Pomegranate Mojito Sunset" when I'm standing in line to pay for toilet paper, at least I get to think about something cool like hand-grenades.

Because the English word grenade comes from Old French pome grenade,¹ meaning "apple with many seeds."² Grenade actually means "pomegranate" in modern French. The pome was dropped --a fad which was, of course, picked up by Renaissance-era Brits. They were calling the fruits grenades or granates when they discovered hand-propelled explosives around the 16th century.³ So when its self-contained shrapnel reminded soldiers of the seeds in a pomegranate, they gave the device a nickname.⁴

We call the fruits "pomegranates" today, but remnants of grenade (its shrapnel, if you will) still exist in modern English.

You alcoholics reading this might be familiar with grenadine syrup. Tequila sunrise, anyone?

---

¹"grenade."American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th ed. 2007. Houghton Mifflin.
²"pomegranate."American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th ed. 2007. Houghton Mifflin.
³"granate." Oxford English Dictionary. 2007. Oxford University Press. 22 Feb 2009. http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50097715.
⁴"hand grenade." Wikipedia. 2009. 22 Feb 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenade.

Reptilian

According to the AHD Reptilian is defined as:

1. Of or relating to reptiles.

2. Resembling or characteristic of a reptile.

3. Despicable; treacherous.

The word reptilian is derived from the word reptile which originates in Latin with the words reptus and repere which mean to creep. It also came through Late Latin as the word reptile and carried into Old French as the same word and then into Middle English as reptil. 

I think it is funny how the word reptile, was actually reptile for a good while until Middle English dropped the e, and I guess today we decided it was better to keep it. I know my chosen word is Reptilian, but it's etymology is taken from the word reptile. I really enjoy hearing the word used when describing someone who is despicable. That man has reptilian behavior; you would think his mother was a dinosaur. 

Terrific

I chose the word terrific because somehow the meaning of the word has evolved from an adjective used to describe something "dreadful, causing terror, or frightful"*.

Etymologically, the word comes from Latin, terrificus, which is composed of the stem of terrere; to frighten and the suffix ficus; causing, making.

So what occurred which made this word take on its new commonly used meaning "Very good or fine; splendid"?
The OED online provides us with some quotations which guide us through history and the words evolution.
The first definition given above was used as far back as 1667. Later, in 1809, the definition evolved to take the meaning; "Applied intensively to anything very severe or excessive". So even here the connotation has become slightly less negative.
It was only in 1930 when terrific became used as "an enthusiastic term of commendation" or "superlatively good". So now the excess defined in the second definition is being used to describe an excess of good.

So there you have it; somehow a word can be on both extremes, meaning both something which is excessively dreadful or splendid.

*All definitions/historical quotations taken from www.oed.com

bureau

One of the words I often misspell, bureau has several definitions: 1. "a chest of drawers, especially a dresser for holding clothes" 2. "a government department of a subdivision of a department" 3. "a business that offers information of a specified kind: a travel bureau."

The etymology of this word comes from French, "cloth cover for desks, desk, office" from the Old French burel meaning woolen cloth, probably from the Vulgar Latin *būra, from the Late Latin burra, shaggy garment.

--American Heritage College Dictionary Fourth Edition

Muffin

According the OED, this teatime and breakfast treat's name has an "uncertain origin." However, a possible origin is provided: "German regional (Low German) muffe (plural muffen) little cake (16th cent. in Middle Low German). Perhaps compare also Old French moflet, mouflet (14th cent. as noun denoting a kind of bread; 13th cent. as adjective in sense ‘(of bread) soft, tender’) (OED)."

Now, it must never be forgotten, muffins are by definition 'soft' and 'tender'; anything 'dry' or 'tough' is therefore, not a muffin.

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/petitvacherin/3291395728/

Skirt and Shirt

With anticipation of Spring's warm weather, I decided to look up the etymology of one of my favorite things to wear in warm weather: a skirt. Skirt as defined by the OED, is "The lower part of a woman's dress or gown, covering the person from the waist downwards; also, especially in the modern use, a separate outer garment serving this purpose". According to the AHD, the word skirt came in through Middle English from the Old Norse word skyrta, which means "shirt"! The OED tells us that "the development of the English sense is obscure, but the corresponding Low German sch(o with umlaut)rt has in some districts the sense of 'woman's gown' ". Also, according to the OED, the Old Norse skyrta corresponds with the Old English word scyrte, (note: In Old English, when a c was preceded by an s, it changed into a sh sound), which our modern-day word shirt is derived from! The AHD defines shirt as "a garment for the upper part of the body, typically having a collar, sleeves, and a front opening". Isn't it interesting how two distinct words for different types of clothing are so closely related?!

Ratio

The AHD has three definitions for ratio.
"1. The relation in degree or number between two similar things.
2. The relative value of silver and gold in bimetallic currency.
3. In Mathematics, a relationship between two quantities, normally expressed as the quotient of one divided by the other."
All of the definitions are nouns, and the word is of Latin origin (ratio in Latin means calculation). It comes from the word ratus, the past participle of reri, which means to reckon or consider. The word has primarily its original meaning, but now has more of a mathematical usage.

Source: AHD

Orange

Orange is defined as " 1a. any of several southeast Asian evergreen trees of the genus Citrus, having fragrant white flowers and round fruit with a yellowish or reddish rind and a sectioned pulpy interior. b The fruit of any of these trees, having a sweetish acidic juice." Our English word "orange" started as the Sanskrit word narangah and its evolution into "orange" follows its trail west from India. In the deserts of Arabia, "orange" was narang in Persian and naranj in Arabic. In Italy the Old Italian word for "orange" was melarancio from mela, "fruit," and arancio, "orange tree," which is from the Arabic word naranj. Old French translated the Old Italian into pume orenge. Here, the "a" of arancio became an "o" because of French familiarity with the town "Orange." The first recorded use of Middle English orenge is estimated to be around 1380. One wonders if "orange" was recognized as it traveled further west back to India.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazyasamonkey/2807120387/sizes/t/
Definition and word history: AHD

Fall

Fall: the Season

In the American Heritage College Dictionary the word "Fall" has a very long and diverse list of meanings. Fall can mean anything from "To drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity" to "A loss of chastity" and many other definitions in between that takes up almost an entire column of a page. 

The etymology of the word is simple: It went from the Old English word feallan, to Middle English where it became fallen. The definition I am most interested in looking at is, "Autumn." The story that I can come up with for this is that in the season of the year known as Autumn, the leaves falling off of the trees is what caused that time of year to also be known as "Fall." 

I have a friend who recently came back from studying abroad in London, who did some  English language study while over there. She informed me that the word "Fall" used to be used in England, but it has since then been phased out of the language and now the term used over there is just "Autumn." Apparently we brought the English language to North America when "Fall" was still being used and we never dropped the term as the English have. 

- Image from www.google.com

cloud

I love to take pictures of clouds (here's one of my cloud photos from last spring). And I love to collect quotations about clouds. Leonardo da Vinci called them "bodies without surface," while Victor Hugo described them as "the only birds that never sleep." So where does cloud come from?

According to the AHD, cloud is a development of the Old English word clud, meaning "rock" or "hill," and the OED documents uses of cloud to mean "rock" or "hill" as late as 1480. But cloud was also being used to denote an atmospheric mass as early as the 1300s, and eventually that meaning became the dominant one.

I like the idea that a word for something so very earthly is now used for something so very airy.

And here's a haiku for a close:

kumo oriori

hito ni yasumuru

tsukimi kana

Clouds now and again

give a soul some respite from

moon-gazing--behold

- Basho (trans. B. L. Einbond)

Dinner

Today's entry is inspired by flipping through the AHD until I found a word with interesting etymology. But it's a good one. Today, dinner means either the second or third meal of the day (depending on whether one subscribes to the breakfast-lunch-dinner ordering, or the more archaic breakfast-dinner-supper). Dinner first appears in Middle English, where it, like its Old French antecedent disner, signifies the first meal of the day. This in turn comes from the Vulgar Latin disiunare, itself from the earlier Latin disieiunare. The latter is essentially the Latinate equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon breakfast, from dis (reversed, back) and ieiunium (fast).

How then does the first meal become the last? Well, in classical and medieval times the fisrt meal of the day was the largest and most significant. As customs changed and the large meal was taken later in the day the word went with it; first to a large midday meal followed by a light supper, and now to the large evening meal.

All information from the AHD.

Sesquipedal

Sesquipedal is such an amazing and unusual word that the spell check thinks that it is spelled incorrectly. Sesquipedal is the adjective form of sesquipedalian, which is the noun form meaning, "A long word... 1. Given to the use of long words... 2. Long and ponderous; polysyllabic." It is very appropriate that such a definition should be such a long and ponderous word. Sesquipedal comes from Latin and means, "of a foot and a half in length." This word also contains the Latin stem ped- (foot) which we have already learned! 

- AHCD 

Angel

Tonight I decided that instead of coming up with some word that had to do with a story, I'd just pick a random word...

It didn't work.

I ended up struggling to keep my dog away from the couch by constantly calling her into my room, and proceeded to choose my word, angel. Not because she is one, but because that's her name.

"Angel" comes from both Late-Latin (angelus) and Greek (angelos), meaning messenger. It then traveled down to Old-English (engel) and Anglo-French (angele), and eventually into Middle English.

According to Merriam-Webster, an angel is:

"1a: a spiritual being superior to humans in power and intelligence ; especially : one in the lowest rank in the celestial hierarchy
b: plural : an order of angels — see celestial hierarchy
2: an attendant spirit or guardian
3: a usually white-robed winged figure of human form in fine art
4: messenger , harbinger <angel of death>
5: a person like an angel (as in looks or behavior)
6Christian Science : inspiration from God
7: one (as a backer of a theatrical venture) who aids or supports with money or influence"

If I took any of those definitions, my dog would have stuck with her nickname from my former roommate: Evil. Because the only message she brings me anywhere near to a white robe is "So, I found this robe. It tasted really yummy."


www.merriam-webster.com

Jettison

"Jettison" is defined in the AHD as, "To cast overboard or off," or "to discard (something ) as unwanted or burdensome." It ultimately comes from the Vulgar Latin "iectare," meaning "to throw," and passed through Anglo-Norman (getteson) and Middle English (jetteson) on the way. Interestingly, "jet" also came from the same VL root, but came to Modern English through French, from the Old French "jeter," to spout forth, throw." So, "jettison" isn't simply a later, direct development from "jet" like I had previously thought when reading science fiction, but Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" still remains poignant through its discussion of just what it means to jettison a human life because it is too "burdensome."

-- AHD

Loyal

Loyal, as defined by the American Heritage College Dictionary, means "steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign, faithlful to a person, ideal, custom, or duty, or of, relationg to, or marked by loyalty." Loyal originated from the Latin word legalis (legal) which is from the Latin roots lex-, leg-. Then it went through Old French as leial, loial and on to French and into English as loyal. Loyal and legal are also doublets because they share the same stem, lex-.

It is easy to see how the word passed through French. The French version dropped the consonant between e and a, while also losing its ending.

Religion

The AHD holds many definitions of religion, but for the sake of time I'll go with the first.
"1a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A system grounded in such belief and worship."

The etymology of this word is unsure, according to the OED, but the most widely accepted explanation is that it came through French from Latin, and that the original word was "religare" (The "a" has a bar over it). The re- is our well known "again" prefix. -ligare means "to bind." From there I can't find the connection, and I haven't thought up a story yet. Many people translate "religare" as "to bind fast," meaning that our re- means "fast," but I wonder if we could still try to use our "again" translation. Is religion when one binds oneself to the beliefs of others, or is it when they bind themselves to their beliefs, or it is when they bind themselves to other people? Does the re- prefix mean that religion is the unbinding and rebinding of beliefs, or the unbinding and rebinding of relationships with others?

jungle

Our word jungle has come to specify "land overgrown with underwood, long grass, or tangled vegetation; also, the luxuriant and often almost impenetrable growth of vegetation covering such a tract" (OED). Over time the word has taken on diverse spellings, including "jangal," "jingle," and "jungul." Interestingly, the word’s origin is not so delineated as its modern usage. Jungle came into English from the Hindi and Marathi jangal, meaning "desert, waste, forest." The word originates in the Sanskrit jangala, which signifies "dry; dry ground, desert." The OED highlights the similarity in the gradual progression of the meanings of jungle and forest from "wasteland" to "dense flora." Specifically, the OED states: "The change in Anglo-Indian use may be compared to that in the historical meaning of the word forest in its passage from a waste or unenclosed tract to one covered with wild wood. In the transferred sense of jungle there is apparently a tendency to associate it with tangle." It seems that we perhaps witness a type of folk etymology in the word jungle, in that its meaning came to resemble or approximate that of a like-sounding word, tangle. The word jungle is often modified for figurative usage, as in "blackboard jungle (in schools), asphalt jungle, concrete jungle (in cities)." Another interesting nuance is the fluctuating in spelling over time. The OED entry demonstrates some disagreement on the part of authors over the centuries. The jungle spelling was used as early as 1776, but the jangal spelling (the one closest to the linguistic parent) was used as late as 1900.

Leper

According to the American Heritage Dictionary a leper is :

1. A  person affected by leprosy.

2. One who is avoided by others.

It originates in Greek from the word lepros meaning scaly and lepis meaning scale. It also traveled through Late Latin from the word lepra, and made its way through Old French into Middle English with the word lepre.

I don't know which is worse, being a person who has leprosy or being an avoided person. I guess I rather be cast out than have a disease. It's a very harsh word to call someone. Even if the person didn't know what it meant, they would definitely get the feeling that it's not good and probably something icky.

dilly-dally (and just plain dally)

Dilly-Dally, as defined by the AHD, means "to waste time, especially in indecision; dawdle or vascillate". This word (also according to the AHD) came from reduplication of dally. Looking up the word dally, we find that it means "1. To play amorously; flirt. 2. To trifle; toy. 3. To waste time; dawdle" (AHD) and comes from Old French dalier, which means "to converse, chat, to pass one's time in light social converse, etc." (OED).
So, presumably, dilly-dally came from dally, using repetition of the word for emphasis and emphasized the the definition of "wasting time". Since "dally-dally" would have seemed silly to say, the word went through dissimilation to become dilly-dally.
I enjoy this word quite a bit, simply because I have a tendency to dilly-dally (and dawdle).

Gigantic

Honestly, I just really love saying this word. That is not the only reason I chose it today though. The main reason is actually that I attended my sister's baby shower today. She's 7 months pregnant and gigantic.

I am using the definition of the word that means "exceedingly large of its kind" or "very large of extensive." My sister would not appreciate it if I meant "relating to or suggestive of a giant." (both definitions supplied by the AHD) Now to etymologically dissect this lovely word that brings to mind such splendid images:

The AHD dictionary states that this word dates back to the Greek word gigantikos, which can be further broken up into gigas, gigant-, meaning giant. Then it passed into Latin gigas, also meaning giant. For a further history of the word I had to look up "giant." So onwards with our journey!

Giant takes up the story as the word gigas passes through what scholars assume would be Vulgar Latin as gagas, gagant-. The word then makes its appearance in Old French as geant, jaiant. The last leg of this journey is the use of the word geant, which comes from ME (I had to look the actual word in the OED because the AHD only held the information that it was from ME). Thus the ending of this words journey has arrived (at least for now!).

Multitude

"Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
-Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

According to the AHD, multitude is a noun which means:
"1. The condition of being very numerous.
2. A very great number, or
3. The masses; the populace."

Its stem multi- ultimately comes from the Latin multus, meaning "many." Its noun-forming suffix -tude was picked up as it travelled through Old French into Middle English. According to the OED, it was one of the first English words to pick up the multi- use from French. As I peruse the OED, I am flabbergasted by the multitude of ways in which this word has been transformed into other parts of speech and turned up in our literature:

multitude, n.

multitudinarious, adj.

multitudinary, adj.

multitudine, n.

multitudinism, .

multitudinist, adj.

multitudinosity, n.

multitudinous, adj.

multitudinously, adv.

multitudinousness, n.

I couldn't make up that many forms of this word if I tried! This is such a testament to me of the utter plasticity of our strange tongue.

Roulette

In a couple of weeks, I will travel to Helena/West Memphis with my family to visit my aunt and uncle. At some point on this excursion, we will probably visit one of many casinos in the area, as usual. I'm not really the gambling type, but I have gambled enough to know that I should never play Roulette. Perhaps my luck just isn't enough to benefit from this game.

According to the OED, the word roulette was first used to describe a small wheel in the 1700's, although this usage is now obselete. It was then used to describe "a game of chance played on a table with a revolving centre, on which a ball is set in motion, and finally drops into one of a set of numbered compartments" in a set of legislations in 1745.

In the AHD, the aforementioned definition is listed and then followed by another, defining a roulette as a "small toothed disk of tempered steel attached to a handle and used to make rows of dots, lsits, or perferations, as on a sheet of postage stamps". Roulette can also be used to describe any perferations made on a sheet of stamps.

The etymological history of roulette, as found in the AHD, lists it as a French word, derived from the Old French word ruelete, a feminine diminuitive of the word ruele/roue, a word meaning "wheel". Roue is derived from the Latin word for wheel, rota.

Fraternize

Fraternize, according to the AHD means:

1. to associate with others in a brotherly or congenial way
2. to associate on friendly terms with an enemy or opposing group, often in violation of discipline or orders

The word ultimately comes from the Latin fraternus meaning "brotherly", which is a form of the Latin word frater meaning "brother". I found it's Latin origins interesting in comparison with its modern usage. Looking at the Latin from which it comes, I would assume that to fraternize is a good thing, like the first meaning of the AHD suggests. The word suggests brotherly love and friendship, but the way I most often hear it used is following the second definition, where the fraternization is not good because it is being associated with someone who is not supposed to be given a friendly attitude. I think it's interesting how a word that initially is a good thing can pick up such negative connotations. To me, I'll always use the first meaning because I think that "associating on friendly terms" or "in a brotherly or congenial way" should never be used with such a negative connotation because it just widens a rift in humanity.

-American Heritage Dictionary

pistachio

Pistachio is "a deciduous Asian tree having pinnately compound leaves and nutlike fruits" according to our American Heritage Dictionary, and also "the fruit of this tree, having an edible oily green or yellow kernel." The word pistachio comes from the Italian pistacchio, and before that the Latin pistacium, for pistachio nut, and previously the Hellenistic Greek πιστακιον, which our dictionary notes "perh" meant pistachio tree. Before this it might be derived from the Middle Persian pistak but that bit of the entry in AHD has an asterisk with it, so it's probably not okay to state it as a complete fact.

I chose this word because I want to eat some pistachio ice cream right now.

Blunderbuss

Is there anything more recognizable from America's agrarian past then the fluted shape of a blunderbuss? Depicted in cartoons, museums, and pictures from long ago, the blunderbuss is a relic of America's long-standing obsession with firearms.

But what, precisely, does "blunderbuss" mean that somehow translates into a "short musket of wide bore and flaring muzzle" (AHD)? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Blunderbuss is a combination of two words. First, blunder is an alteration of the Dutch donder, meaning thunder. Donder comes from Middle Dutch doner, which may come from the theoretical Indo-European root (s)tenə-, meaning "to thunder".
The second word, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is bus, meaning "gun". Bus has a more interesting etymology than donder, as it comes from the Middle Dutch word busse, meaning "tube". Likely, this came about simply because the barrel of a gun is, by necessity, a tube. Busse, in turn, comes from the Latin buxis, meaning "box". Perhaps there is a relation between a tube and a box being containers? That is a wild guess.

As donder means "thunder" and bus means "gun", it's pretty easy to see how the blunderbuss got it's name: it's a "thundergun". Since it was a muzzle-loaded weapon, this likely means that, like many of its kind, it had a loud report. Hence, the "thunder".

Frugiferous & Frugal

Short, sweet, to the point: Frugiferous comes directly from Latin, and is defined by the OED as "fruit bearing, fruitful." Broken into its components, the word's definition is painfully obvious: frugi-, frux fruit -fer bearing (with the -ous suffix with which we are all so familiar).

Frugal, however, while consisting of the same frugi-, frux stem is defined as quite the opposite: "Careful or sparing in the use of food, goods (OED)."

The utility of saving 'fruit' when its availability was unreliable in turn resulted in the need for "careful or sparing use" (maybe).

Czar

Czar (also tsar or tzar) is defined by our AHD to mean one of the Russian emperors who ruled before the revolution in 1917. Above is the coat of arms for the Romanov family. Czar can also, according to the AHD, be used as a more generic term for someone holding autocratic power or someone appointed to power.

The word czar is interesting because it ultimately comes from the Latin word Caesar, which is what the Romans called their Emperors. The word traveled through Greek, Gothic (as kaisar), Slavonic, and Old Russian. Julius Caesar, the first Roman Caesar from whom the rest took their titles, never made it as far as Russia, but the idea of him did.

(picture credits http://www.rollintl.com/roll/grcoat.htm)

Soup

The word soup surprised me as it has many more meanings than I originally thought.

The most commonly used definition, as seen in the AHD is; "A liquid food prepared from meat, fish, or vegetable stock and often containing solid ingredients".

It is also a slang word having a plethora of meanings including; "To modify something so as to increase its capacity to perform or satisfy, esp. to add horsepower" or in the idiom in the soup meaning "Having difficulties; in trouble".



Originally used in the phrase "soup up", the soup in this context was actually material injected into a horse to make it run faster, according to AHD.



The word comes from the Old French, souppe or sope. This later passed into the French soupe and then into Middle English where the -e was dropped and we now have "Soup".*

*All etymological history from www.oed.com

groove

"Get into the groove; boy, you've got to prove your love to me."

Among its many meanings, groove has, according to the American Heritage College dictionary:

• The spiral track cut into a phonograph record for a stylus to follow.

• Slang: A situation or an activity that one enjoys or to which one is especially well suited.¹

Of course, these meanings are related.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "groove" originally existed in Middle English as grofe, meaning "a mineshaft" from Old Norse grod, meaning "pit." By the 17th century, the word had become grove or groev, and its meaning had been extended to "a channel or hollow cut by artificial means." In the early 20th century, this meaning was applied to the lines on a phonograph record --a term we still use for the musical trenches dug into LPs.²

In the early 1930's, the term "in the groove" was invented by jazz musicians to mean "[characteristic of] a time when jazz is played well."²

Literally, the musician is inhabiting the grooves of a record!

From this, we get groovy and grooving, but there's no reason to employ such trite hippie slang when we can have a great mental image like "in the groove."

---

¹"groove."American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th ed. 2007. Houghton Mifflin.
²"groove." Oxford English Dictionary. 2007. Oxford University Press. 15 Feb 2009. http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50099217.

sabotage

Sabotage (n.) means "Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion." It comes from the French word saboter that means to walk noisily, bungle. Sabotage comes from the word sabot. Interestingly, sabots are wooden shoes worn in some European countries. Its etymology is from French, from the Old French çabot, an alteration of savate meaning old shoe, probably of Turkish or Arabic origin. Perhaps the first sabotage involved shoe throwing...

--American Heritage College Dictionary Fourth Edition

Columbarium

Columbarium is defined as "1a. A vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the dead. b. a niche in such a vault. 2a. A dovecote. b. a pigeonhole in a dovecote" (AHD). The word ultimately comes from the Latin word columba, dove (AHD). How does the word shift from meaning "dove" to "a vault with niches for urns" (AHD)? Well, English columbarium is directly borrowed from the same Latin word columbarium, which meant "pigeonhole; niche in a sepulcher" (New College Latin and English Dictionary). Pigeonholes or dovecotes are an extensive complex of man-made compartments for doves or pigeons. In purpose dovecotes resemble chicken coops, in that they house poultry for their eggs and flesh. Columbarium's adaptation to a house for urns stems from its resemblence with the dovecotes. The vault pictured in the top left illustrates this resemblence. Instead of doves, however, the niches hold urns with ashes of the dead.

Photo Source: http://www.neatorama.com/images/2007-01/roman-columbarium.jpg

Cute

The day of love is upon us once again! Every year, we get gypped into this commercial holiday of "love." Fantastic.

So, waking up in this romantic mood, I decided to do a post about a word that will probably be used by everyone today: cute. Cute, as defined by the AHD is "delightfully pretty or dainty . . . obviously contrived to charm . . . shrewd; clever." The last, and oldest, definition seems puzzling. How does cute go from shrewd or clever to warm-fuzzy feelings? It probably derived from years of clever ideas from sweethearts to their loved one. So the second definiton came into being. Cute senarios set up by charming men over many years produces warm-fuzzing feelings, and hence, the definition as we use it today was born.

But where does cute come from? The AHD says that it actually comes from acute, which means "keenly perceptive or discerning . . . reacting readily to stimuli or impressions . . . extremely sharp or sever; intense." Acute comes from Latin acutus, which is probably part of acuere "to sharpen." Ultimately, it came from the Latin word acus, which means "needle." So an acute person would set up a clever situation to snare his beloved.... What would this world do without love?

Exscind

I came across this word, exscind, last week when reading for a class. I was not sure exactly what it meant so I decided to look up the definition, and found that I could easily dissect the word. The definition is "to cut out or excise." It is a verb, and originates from the Latin word exscindere. The word may be broken up into its etymological components ex (out of, away) and scindere (to cut).
Source: AHD

Tofu

The AHD defines tofu as "a protein-rich food coagulated from an extract of soybeans". Inspired by my dinner (prepared for me by my "take-home chef"/fiancé), I started thinking about this word. Mainly it just sounds fun to me (if in a somewhat awkward way). Apparently it's origin is ultimately from the Chinese word dòufu. This word combines dòu(bean) and fǔ (curdled). That word traveled through Japanese-and the word Tōfù-before reaching English.

muscle

Muscle is a noun which denotes the fibrous tissue that helps a body to move. Its language of origin is Latin: it comes from musculus, a noun meaning both "muscle" and "little mouse" since mus = mouse and -culus is a diminutive. If you flex your arm, you can see how the muscle there could be considered a little mouse. On its route from Latin to Middle English muscle traveled through Old French.

Sources: AHD & The New College Latin and English Dictionary by John Traupman

Okay

It seems more common these days to see "okay" spelled out, in place of the abbreviation "O. K." Most likely this is because it is actually fewer keystrokes (assuming the proper use of capitalization, punctuation and spacing; while the simpler "ok" can be seen in very informal writing, it would probably be seen as unacceptable in even slightly formal circumstances). It provides an interesting example of how slang develops quite rapidly. According to the AHD, "O. K." ( defined as an adjective as "1. Acceptable or satisfactory, 2. Mediocre, 3. In proper working order, 4. Correct, 5. Healthy or uninjured," as an adverb as "1. Used to express approval or agreement, 2. Well enough, adequately" and as a noun as "Approval, agreement.") was originally derived from a slang misspelling: "Oll Korrect", instead of "All Correct." What is interesting is that the original slang is now completely lost; almost no one in this day and age would think of writing "oll korrect," and now even the abbreviation is less common than its phoenetic spelling. In the next hundred years, the fact that it was ever an abbreviation at all may be largely forgotton as well.

leap

Although the AHD gives multiple definitions for "leap" all of them focus on the act of moving in a manner that is quick and reminiscent of a jump. Leap most recently passed through Middle English as lepen and originated in Old English as hlepan (which I have no idea how to pronounce).
I choose this word because lately I feel like I've been leaping from one project to a next. Besides having this meaning for me, it always reminds me of my nieces and nephews- those kids keep me busy that's for sure! (also, old school leap frog is an awesome game). There are just so many bright and vivid images that come to mind when someone says "leap." Although this word may not have a very long etymological history, it has a long history in my life.

Raid

The word raid means "a surprise attack by a small armed force."  It originally comes from the Old English word rad meaning "a riding, road."  The American Heritage College Dictionary goes on to describe how raid and road decended from the same Old English word.  The ai in raid is an example of the development of the long a in northern dialects of Old English, while the oa in road is an example of the long a in all other English dialects.  The Old English word rad also held an aggressive tone to mean "the act of riding with a hostile intent."  The current word road does not hold the same tone, except for in the form of the compound inroad, "a riding on or in."  The current definiton of raid comes from Sir Walter Scott who invigorated the Scottish word raid with the meaning "a military expedition on horseback."  

The Americfan Heritage College Dictionary presents two other definitons of the word raid as it relates to the business world, each meaning to take over or decieve another company.  It is interesting to see how the word has been altered to fit into a non-violent community.  

Source:  American Heritage College Dictionary Fourth Edition

Solemnization

Once again, at 1:30 in the morning, I had no clue which word to use. I asked my roommate and he suggested "somniloquence ". Unfortunately, it wasn't in the dictionary I looked up, and my computer tells me it's misspelled yet doesn't give me an possibility even remotely close to it (he swears it's in the book he's reading, "Waves" by Virginia Woolf). Either way, my online dictionary gave me options and he got rather excited about solemnization, so that's my word for today!

Solemnization is a noun form of solemnize, meaning

"1: to observe or honor with solemnity
2: to perform with pomp or ceremony ; especially : to celebrate (a marriage) with religious rites
3: to make solemn : dignify".

Both words come from the idea of "solemn", an adjective, which came from Latin, sollemnis (solemn, go figure). So the next time you want to say "oh, sad day!", think of solemn. Then think of solemnize. And finally, think of solemnization, because it's just such a fun word to say.


Apparently somniloquence is a word. Found it on a different online dictionary as "sleep talking". Who knew!


www.meriam-webster.com

Swanky

I'll admit it: I have a great fondness of old and archaic terms; words and phrases that have fallen out of common use. I ask people "How's Tricks?" I complain about dealing with rigmarole. I accuse others of being dastardly. And quite frankly I compliment people as being Swanky. So, the thought occurred: What exactly does it mean to be Swanky?

According to the AHD, Swanky is simply an adjectival form of swank. Swank, conveniently located just above, can be an adjective in and of itself. However, it's noun form either describes "Smartness in Style or Bearing;Elegance", or a "swagger". More than likely, at the time this word came into common usage, one who had the smartness in style previously mentioned would also affect a swagger.

As far as definite Etymology, the AHD can offer little: It suggests that it may be akin to the Middle High German swanken, meaning "to swing". This makes a degree of sense: when one swaggers, they swing their lower body in a regular step, so the association seems to make sense.

So, what is our story? It's a simple one, at best: The swinging motion of an affected swagger, at the time considered a part of good bearing and elegance, was described by the word for swinging. Afterwards, the word did not change much, beyond growing more to describe the smartness in bearing than the actual motion.

Jingo

Flipping through the dictionary, I thought this word had an interesting etymology. "Jingo" is defined as, "one who vociferously supports one's country, especially in a belligerent foreign policy; a chauvinistic patriot" (AHD). Fair enough. The fun part is that the phrase "By jingo!" is used for emphasis or to express surprise, and that this phrase was used in the "refrain of a bellicose 19th-century English music-hall song" (AHD). Even better, "jingo" is an alteration of "Jesus," the etymology of which of course leads us ultimately back to the Hebrew word "yesua," (related to our name "Joshua," FYI) (AHD). So it seems that an English word that could potentially describe a warmonger leads us back to a man commonly known as the Prince of Peace. Excellent.

HIGH TAIL

Since this is Arkansas, I was wondering if any of you have ever "high-tailed" it out of anywhere. It's a wonderfully descriptive verbal phrase, and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it "comes straight from the plains where a mustang, when startled, erects his tail in a sudden, quick gesture and runs like the wind."

Personally, I love to think of myself as a wild mustang whenever I flee from a potentially awkward situation.

Arbitrary

Ah, my absolute favorite word. I love to use it, mostly because I almost always decide things on arbitrary lines. Also, arbitrary is heavily used in science, so I am frequented by this word a lot.

The AHD defines the word as "determined by chance, whim, or impulse . . . based on or subject to individual judgment or preference . . . [or] not limited by law; despotic." The AHD says that it comes from the Middle English word arbitrarie. This was borrowed straight from Latin's arbitrarius (hey, no random French alterations!). Latin derived this from arbiter, which (in today's time) indicates a person who has the authority to judge something. This word was derived from Middle English's arbitre. Interestingly, this word passed through Old French before heading to Middle English, but it didn't change it dramatically from the Latin form of arbiter. This word ultimately came from the Phoenician word 'arb. It is not completely known to come from the Phonecians, but 'arb does mean "surety, guarantee." When one thinks on how this word is applied today, this is quite a comical stretch. To arbitrarily define something means that it is not guaranteed. In reality, it was just randomly, at will, defined by the person who put it forth. Interesting, no?

Kamikaze

The AHD defines kamikaze as:

Adj. 1. Of or relating to a suicidal air attack.
2. slang So reckless in behavior as to be suicidal

What interests me about this word is how it's etymology seems so different from it's meaning for us today. As opposed to the reckless, suicidal, and dangerous definitions of the word now, it's Japanese translation paints a very different picture. In Japanese it translates to "divine wind", kami meaning "divine" and kaze meaning "wind". I associate this translation of divine wind with almost the exact opposite of kamikaze's English definition.

-American Heritage Dictionary

Ogle

The American Heritage College Dictionary defines ogle as, "v. To stare at... to stare in an impertinent, flirtatious, or amorous manner... from Low German oog, oge, eye." This is such an amazing way to say that someone is staring! And the etymological definition makes complete sense; you are using your eyes to check someone out. I chose this word because Valentines Day is coming up and I think everyone should be doing more ogling! 

Cosmonaut

Cosmonaut - Our AHD defines it as a Russian or Soviet astronaut, derived from the Greek kosmos (universe) and nautes (sailor).

With the cold war on, the Space Race was (beautifully) both a metaphorical and literal struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union as the two nations strove to count coup on the moon. In 1961, the Soviets declared Yuri Gagarin, above, to be the first man to successfully enter space and safely return, raising the stakes for our own space program.

Imagine heading out past the sky - space is dangerous, beautiful, and calling us still.

[image source: techrepublic.com]

Threshold

The OED states the definition of threshold as:
"The piece of timber or stone which lies below the bottom of a door, and has to be crossed in entering a house; the sill of a doorway; hence, the entrance to a house or building."
or
"In reference to entrance, the beginning of a state or action, outset, opening. (In quot. 1659, in reference to going out or leaving, close, end.)"

The etymology doesn't seem very interesting. Apparently it comes from the Old English word "therscold."
There are two interesting aspects of this word for me. The first is that the word threshold is usually associated with entering. Most of the definitions in OED (there were others) associated the threshold with the act of "entering." It seems that, most of the time in modern English, it is associated with the act of entering. So it was interesting to see that the last time the OED had a quotation where "threshold" was associated with exiting was in 1695.

The second reason for my interest in the word is in the imagery that the word presents me with. So as I ask you: What do you imagine when you hear the word? Is the room you're in dark and the place you're going into light? Is it the opposite case? Do you even picture a door, or do you just see the plank of wood/metal strip/etc. that is the threshold? Does the imagery that comes to mind mean anything?

etymology

Now that we’re familiar with this word in practice, let’s take a look at its history. So that we’re clear, the American Heritage Dictionary defines etymology as “the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning.” Before taking on its present spelling, the Middle English version of the word was etimologie, passed down from the Old French ethimologie. As one might expect, the Old French word was inherited from Latin. It is important to note that the term can be traced back to the Medieval Latin ethimologia, Medieval Latin being the scholarly language of the Middle Ages. This word was carried down from the Latin etymologia, itself descended from the Greek etumologia, related to etumon, the “true sense of a word.” Note that an 'h' appeared and vanished over time; neither the AHD nor the OED details the cause of this phenomenon. The Greek etumon is the parent of our modern etymon, and comes from the neuter etumos, meaning “true.” It’s exciting and ennobling to think that our etymology class studies truth and true meaning!

Nemoral

Say this adjective, repeatedly, quickly, enunciating each of the syllables, and allowing your tongue to do most of the work, I promise that you will first startle your neighbors, and second sound as though you've regressed back to kindergarten.

The OED accredits nemoral's most recent origins to the Latin word nemoralis "belonging to a wood or forest, frequenting woodland." The stem nemor-, nemus being a "cognate with ancient Greek  wood, Gaulish nemeton holy place (probably originally holy grove), Old Irish nemed holy place (OED)." 

Merely murmuring this word aloud makes it a little pet of mine, but the added pleasure of its definition referring to the forest as a holy place makes it all the more endearing. 

Memento

According to the American Heritage Dictionary a memento is, "a reminder of the pas; a keepsake." It originally comes from the Latin word memento, an imperative of the word meminisse, meaning to remember. It traveled from Latin to Middle English where memento was a "commemoration of the living or the dad in the Canon of the Mass. 

I like the way this word sounds. If you say it fast enough it sounds like a different word or phrase entirely. I come up with "momma's toe" when I say it fast enough.

Laconic

AHD defines laconic as “using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.” The word originates in the Greek word Lakōn, meaning “a Spartan” (AHD). The Latin word Lacōnicus, from which our modern English word derives, comes from the Greek word Lakōnikos (AHD). The word comes to mean “terse or concise” from the Spartan tendency towards brevity and austerity (AHD). Spartans were well-known among the ancients for saying few words. As early as 1589, a person who uses few words is said to be “laconic” (OED.com).

Scribble

The word scribble is of latin origin, from the word scribere, to write. The American Heritage Dictionary supposes that this later evolved into scriben, meaning the same thing, which eventually became scriblen in Middle English.

As a verb, the word means "To write hurriedly without heed to legibility or style" or "To write or draw in a hurried, careless way".

Scribble can also be used as a noun which refers to "careless hurried writing" or "meaningless marks and lines".

I like this word because it seems to demonstrate a pejorative shift, going from a neutral term, to write, to a more negative connotation of carelessness. Because we were just talking about this in class, I found it to be a good example of this phenomena.

window

I wish to discuss the word "window" because right now I am sitting in a chair with my feet propped up in the open window in my bedroom, enjoying this lovely weather.

Our AHD defines a window firstly as "an opening constructed in a wall or roof that emits light or air to an enclosure and is often framed and spanned with mounted to permit opening and closing," which is our typical definition, and the definition I am making use of at this moment with my feet, but the AHD also defines window as "an interval of time during which an activity can or must take place," and, perhaps most interestingly and certainly most unknowingly to me, "strips of foil dropped from an aircraft to confuse enemy radar."

According to our AHD, window comes from the Old Norse "vindauga" from 'vindr' which means air, or wind, and passed through Middle English before its arrival in our everyday language. It then directs to the Indo-European root "we" in the appendix plus "auga" the word for "eye." In the appendrix "we" is defined as "to blow." So a window is where things can get blown into your eye, which I am not really experiencing right now because there's thankfully not much a breeze.