Morgue

The AHD defines morgue as "A place in which the bodies of persons found dead are kept until identified and claimed or until arrangements for burial have been made." Though my attraction to this word stemmed from its heavy, guttural feel, its heritage is also fairly interesting. Morgues in general are named after one Parisian building, La Morgue, which was used as such. The name of that building probably came from the French word of the same spelling meaning "haughty manner," which came from the Old French word, morguer, meaning "to look at solemnly" (AHD). It is possible that word has roots in the Vulgar Latin word 'murricāre'--"to make a face"--and therefore in "murrum" which means "muzzle" (AHD). At one level this focus on facial expressions makes sense, as morgues undoubtedly contain a very particular demeanor.

-All etymological information taken from the American Heritage College Dictionary.

Yolk

As I'm sure everyone knows, yolk is "the yellow internal part of an egg, surrounded by the 'white' or albumen, and serving as nourishment for the young before it is hatched" (OED). This word is native to English, showing up in Old English as geolca before becoming the Middle English yolke followed by our Modern English form yolk (AHD). What's most interesting, however, is that the Old English word came from the Old English word geolu, which means 'yellow'! (OED). Isn't it interesting how some words are derived from closely related attributive words? I sure think so!

tycoon

A tycoon is a "wealthy and powerful businessperson or industrialist; a magnate." The word has a Japanese origin from the word taikun of Chinese origin, meaning title of a shogun.

Word History from the AHD:

"It has been claimed that in today's global economy some business leaders have more power than heads of states. It is etymologically fitting that such leaders are sometimes called tycoons. Tycoon came into English from Japanese, which had borrowed the title, meaning "great prince," from Chinese. Use of the word was intended to make the shogun, the commander in chief of the Japanese army, more impressive to foreigners (his official title shōgun merely meant "general"). It worked with Matthew C. Perry, who opened Japan to the West in 1854; Perry carried out his negotiations with the shogun, thinking him to be the emperor. In fact, the shogun did rule Japan, although he was supposedly acting for the emperor. The shogun's title, taikun, was brought back to the United States after Perry's visit. Abraham Lincoln's cabinet members used tycoon as an affectionate nickname for the President. The word soon came to be used for business and industry leaders—at times being applied to figures like J. P. Morgan, who may indeed have wielded more power than many princes and presidents."

--American Heritage College Dictionary Fourth Edition

Freckle

I chose "freckle" because as a fair-skinned gal, I have many of them. The word is fun to say, and is one where if you say the word long enough it sounds stranger and stranger. Freckle (noun) is often associated with the skin, and is generally a brown spot that becomes gradually darker with more exposure to sunlight. When "freckle" is used as a verb it may often mean "to become dotted with spots of color."
The origins of freckle probably ultimately come from Scandinavian origins from the word fraknes. The probable Scandinavian origin makes sense because many Scandinavians are fair-skinned and most likely would have had "freckles" or in their case "fraknes." The word then passed through Middle English, frakles, before being altered to its modern day form.

Source: American Heritage College Dicitionary.

fairy

English fairy is an alternative form of fay, a noun denoting a kind of supernatural being, often small in size. Fay was borrowed into English from Old French fae or fée with the same meaning. French fae/fée is itself derived from Latin fata, a plural noun denoting the Fates, the three sisters who draw out, measure, and cut the thread of life.

I like fairy because it shows how an ancient cosmic concept like the Fates persisted in and was modified by a new world-view. In their new (diminutive and demoted?) form, fairies no longer have the power of the Fates, but every now and then we still see them in threes, as with the trio of fairies in Sleeping Beauty: Flora, Fauna, and Merriwether.

Sources: Chambers Dictionary of Etymology and the OED

Enamor

The American Herritage College Dictionary defines the word enamor as "to inspire with love; captivate."  To me, this word has a deep meaning.  It means more than just feeling love for something, but being inspired at the same time.  It makes one want to achieve more or be a better person.  

The word originates from Old French.  "En-" for this word means "to cause to be" and "amor" comes from amour meaning love.  An alternate spelling comes from Britain, enamour.  It keeps the French spelling of the word.  

So, when you run out of descriptive words for someone or something to care about, you can throw out enamor to impress.  

Obnoxious

As I sit down at 2:20 in the morning to figure out a word to write about, the first one to pop into my head is, sadly, "obnoxious". To understand why this is the first word to pop into my head, you must first understand the environment I am trying to work in. I have three roommates, two of which are gone/sleeping at the time being, and one of which is playing video games very loudly down the hallway. As stated before, it's 2 am. I find this more than annoying. I also have two dogs (one large and one small) who are trying to share my double bed with me at the moment. Also, slightly more than just annoying. See, it's no wonder that my word should fit my surroundings.

Obnoxious is mainly known for its broad definition as irritating, although, according to merriam-webster.com, it has three main meanings as an adjective:

"1 archaic : exposed to something unpleasant or harmful —used with to
2 archaic : deserving of censure
3: odiously or disgustingly objectionable : highly offensive"

It is also from the Latin word "obnoxius, from ob in the way of, exposed to + noxa harm".

"It’s pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious.

– Kin Hubbard 1868-1930, American Humorist, Journalist"

(sayings.wordpress.com)

Well, if Kin's right, my roommate and animals are being pretty efficient. Good for them. And, at least I found my word. :)

www.merriam-webster.com
www.sayings.wordpress.com

Humdrum

The American Heritage College Dictionary says that the word Humdrum means, "adj. Lacking variety or excitement; dull. n. Monotonous talk or routine." This word is probably from the root "HUM." I think despite what its definition is, this word is far from lacking and dull. Using it would cause me to feel anything but. That is quite a powerful word if you ask me. 

jostle

One of my favorite verbs is jostle. I always thought of it meant to shake, but the actual definitions for jostle are 1. "to come in rough contact while moving," 2. "to make one's way by pushing or elbowing," 3. "to vie for an advantage or position," 4. "to be in close proximity," and 5. "to pick or try to pick pockets."

The etymology of the word is very interesting. It comes from the Old English word justilen which means "to have sexual relations with." Commonly from justen, to joust, from Old French juster.

--The American Heritage College Dictionary Fourth Edition

robot

We are all familiar with the popular definition of a robot. The AHD defines it as "a mechanical device that can perform a variety of often complex tasks on command or by being programmed in advance." The word comes from the Czech robota, meaning drudgery, servitude, or forced labor. . The word first appeared in English in 1923 with the translation of Czech writer Karel Capek's play "Rossum's Universal Robots" in which humanlike machines are invented and distributed widely around the world. However, these "forced labor" machines eventually overthrow their human masters. We live in a society today in which we can scarcely perform even the simplest task without the aid of an appliance, computer, or machine to make the work easier for us. The field of Artificial Intelligence is an ever-growing frontier, developing machines that are sensitive to the needs and habits of the humans that they serve. Fewer than 100 years ago, this kind of technology was relegated to the pages of science fiction and fantasy books!

Stilleto

While my friends and I were out cavorting at and around Hendrix Formal, I spotted a woman wearing a pair of stiletto heels unlike any I had ever seen. Two thoughts came to my mind at that moment: how/why do women wear those things, and why are they called stilettos?

In the AHD, the definition for stiletto is "a small dagger with a slender tapering blade" or "a small sharp-pointed instrument that makes eyelet holes in needlework". The OED has a similar definition: "a short dagger with a blade in proportion to its breadth." The OED also states that the word stiletto was not used to describe the size of a high heel shoe until 1953.

Stiletto is an Italian diminutive of stilo, which means dagger. Stilo came from the Latin word stilus, which means stylus or spike.

Lunatic

The AHD defines lunatic as "of or for the insane" or, "wildly or giddily foolish." The word made it's most recent appearance in Middle English as lunatik after being passed through Old French as lunatique. It's original roots can be found in Latin with the term lunaticus, luna meaning "moon." And this is were it gets interesting.

I chose this word because it stands out among it's neighbors in its defintion. All around this defintion are terms revolving around the moon, as befitting their roots in the latin lunaticus (i.e., lunar, lunation, lunate, etc.). Lunatic though, does not seemingly have any specific ties to its root. This led me to further study the word and look it up on the Online OED. Ah, and the history of the word unfolds. According to the OED a lunatic is not just a foolish person, but a person "affected with the kind of insanity that was supposed to have recurring periods dependent on the changes of the moon."

What I've learned from this epytomolgy expedition is that under certain moon phases I now have an excuse for any peculiar behavior I may exhibit. :)

Rummage

Once again, random stumbling through the AHD has provided me with a simple word that has a very interesting etymology. Rummage can be a noun or a verb. In general, it means either the act of or performing the act of searching for something. Formally, the AHD says it means "to search thoroughly by handling, turning over or disarranging the contents of" or "a thorough search among a number of things." Here's where I think it get interesting. The other noun definition states that it is "a confusion of miscellaneous articles."

According to the AHD, the word was once "romage" in the English language. This meant the act of packing cargo. This came from the French word "arrumage," which came from Old French "arumer" --to stow. This word came from Old Provencal "arumar." The break down of this word results in "a-" which means to and probably "run." "Run" is a word of Germanic origin that meant a ship's hold.

So basically, this word was a naughtical term that had to deal with storing cargo. From the second definition of the noun, it is obvious that at some point the word was used to describe a pile of random things (it reminded them of a bad arrangment of cargo, perhaps?). From here, one can see that one had to search through a rummage to find something. As is common for humans, the noun became a verb of actually performing the action, and the result is the word we know and love today. Yay.

Delectable

According to the AHD the word delectable is defined as:

1. Greatly pleasing; delightful.

2. Greatly pleasing to the taste; delicious.

The word delectable comes from the Latin words delectabilis/delectare meaning to please. The word has traveled from Latin into Old French and from Old French into Middle English. The part of speech of delectable is originally an adjective but is often used a noun, possibly describing an assortment of food, calling them delectables. 

The word delectable for me always seemed to carry a creepy feeling with it. Whenever I hear the word, no matter how it is being used my mind always draws up a picture of an old man in a room full of young women. He is surrounded by a number of exotic delectables. 

Source: American Heritage Dictionary

Query and Quest

So I found myself in the "Qu-" section of our beloved dictionary, and there seems to be a myriad of good words in this section. These two words, although good and useful words, are only interesting to me when compared.

Query is given the definitions by the AHD:
1)A question; an inquiry
2)A doubt in the mind; a mental reservation.

Quest is given the definitions by the AHD:
1) The act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search
2) An expedition undertaken in medieval romance by a knight in order to perform a prescribed feat

The reason why I picked these words can be seen in their etymology. According to the AHD, they both come from the Latin word quaerere which means "to ask, to seek." Although simple, I like the idea that this history of these words reflects how the quests we undertake in life are filled with questions, and doubt. Given a knight, who is supposed to represent honor and righteousness in purpose at its best, we are asked to see the presence of doubt in that existence. It seems that, given an unquestionable goal, doubt is sown, from which the best questions are found.

Percolate

Percolate is defined by the AHD as:

1. To cause (liquid, for example) to pass through a porous substance or small holes; filter
2. To pass or ooze through
3. To make (coffee) in a percolator

It has also come to be used informally to mean "to become lively or active". It comes from the Latin word percolare, which is formed from the suffix per meaning "through" and from colare meaning "to filter", so the word remains very close to it's original roots without a large shift in meaning. As a coffee addict, this is a well-loved word for me.

-American Heritage Dictionary

Phlegmatic

At this time of year, there is a particular nagging sensation that crosses our minds... and our throats. Winter illness and disease can bring out the worst of us, and can also bring the phlegm out of us. So, why is it that the word Phlegmatic can be used to mean "Having or suggesting a calm sluggish temperament; Unemotional"?(AHD) Granted, it can also mean "of or relating to phlegm"(AHD), but where does this strange other definition come from?

Phlegmatic has its roots back in Greek, in the word "Phlegein", which means "to burn". It later morphs into "phlegma", which, while maintaining an association with heat, also refers to the classical humor "phlegm".(AHD)

A classical definition of humor, according to the trusty AHD, is "one of the four fluids of the body... ... whose relative proportions were thought in ancient and medieval physiology to determine disposition and general health." The humor phlegm, again by the AHD, was "One of the four humors... ... thought to cause sluggishness, apathy, and eveness of temper".

As such, when that root was used to form "phlegmatikos" in Greek, which was then adopted by Late Latin as "phlegmaticus", the word meant "full of phlegm", referring to the humor.(AHD) The poor word then passed through Old French as "fleumatique", but fortunately seemed to emerge on the other side mostly unharmed. However, this helps to explain our conundrum: Someone who is full of the humor phlegm would be considered sluggish, and even of temper, which is likely where this other definition of phlegmatic comes from: A medieval "doctor" declaring an apathetic patient to be phlegmatic: full of phlegm.

So remember, when the winter season rolls around, and your throat begins to fill with that uncomfortable feeling, that perhaps you have a reason to not go to class; you were far too phlegmatic to attend.

Happiness

It seems as though the state of being happy is very difficult to describe to someone without comparing it to other emotions. So what better way to find its true meaning than etymologically?

The OED gives three different definitions for the word:

a) "Good fortune or luck in life or in a particular affair; success, prosperity"

b) "The state of pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good"

c) "Successful or felicitous aptitude, fitness, suitability, or appropriateness; felicity"

The word derives from the Old Norse happ, meaning chance, hap, or good luck. This later passed into Middle English as the word hap. Happy in turn is the noun hap+the suffix y. Happiness in turn is the state of being happy.

So it seems as though happiness can in fact be defined, in a very logical way.

paraphernalia

"Paraphernalia" means, according to the AHD, "1. personal belongings," "2. the articles used in a particular activity; equipment," or "3. A married woman's personal property exclusive of her dowry, according to common law."

"Paraphernalia" comes from the Medieval Latin word that is spelled the same way except for an accent above the third (and long) "a," which claimed the third, and most specific, definition that our dictionary offers. It also came through Late Latin from Greek; "para-" means "beyond," and "pherne" means "dowry." Our appendix states that "pherne" comes from the IE root "bher," meaning "to carry; to bear children." The "-alia" on the end of the word seems to be a combination of "-al" and "-ia," which, according to our textbook, respectively mean "characteristic of" and "state, condition," or "process, condition."

So, this word ultimately means something like, "the condition of being characteristic of being beyond dowry."

I think it's interesting that a word that began pertaining specifically to dowry had been expanded to refer to any sort of possession, and I think that it's even more interesting that I usually hear this term in the phrase "drug paraphernalia," or at least in a similar context. Perhaps that goes along with the idea of a possession that is untouchable, or at least should be hidden from some authority figure, whether that it is a husband or a policeman.

Source: 1. AHD
2. Charles W. Dunmore and Rita M. Fleischer, Studies in Etymology

Panache

I was first made aware of this word by Calvin and Hobbes. The American Heritage dictionary defines it as 1. dash; verve and 2. a bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet.

The second definition came as a surprise to me, but upon inspecting the etymological lineage of the word, it becomes evident that panache is derived through Italian and French from the Latin pinnaculum, which is a diminuative of pinna, meaning feather or wing (that would make it etymologically related to the word pen, and penne pasta).

Also, as a young child, I thought that it was pronounced as pan-a-k-e, mistaking a hard ch for a soft ch.