Category: Etymology

Portugal oranges and Chinese apples

By Simon

An orange

In Romanian the word for orange (the fruit) is portocală [portoˈkalə]. This comes from the Greek πορτοκάλι (portokáli – orange), from the Venetian portogallo (orange), from the Italian Portogallo (Portugal).

An number of other languages get their word for orange from the same root:

– Albanian: portokall
– Amharic: ብርቱካናማ (biritukanama)
– Arabic: برتقال (burtuqaal)
– Azerbaijani: portağal
– Bulgarian: портокал (portokal)
– Georgian: ფორთოხალი (p’ort’okhali)
– Macedonian: портокал (portokal)
– Persian (Farsi): پرتقال (porteghâl)
– Turkish: portakal

Portuguese merchants were probably the first to introduce oranges to Europe, hence the link between oranges and Portugal.

In some languages oranges are known as “Chinese apples”: Apfelsine (German), appelsien / sinaasappel (Dutch), apelsin (Swedish), etc. This makes sense as oranges were first cultivated in China in about 2,500 BC.

Words for oranges in some Slavic languages come from the Old French pomme d’orenge: pomeranč (Czech), pomaranča (Slovene), pomarańcza (Polish).

The word orange derives from नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) – “orange tree” in Sanskrit, which is probably of Dravidian origin. The word for orange in Portuguese, laranja, comes from this root.

The colour orange was named after the fruit. In Old English the colour orange was referred to as ġeolurēad (yellow-red), or ġeolucrog (yellow-saffron) [source].

Souces: Wiktionary, WordReference.com, Google Translate, Wikipedia, Flickr

The Friday of Stupid Spending

By Simon

Today is apparently Black Friday, a custom that originates in the USA and which has been adopted in the UK. It falls the day after Thanksgiving, which hasn’t been adopted in the UK, and many shops and online retailers offer special deals at this time.

I don’t have any deals for you, as I don’t sell anything, but what I can offer you is the Welsh term for Black Friday – Dydd Gwener y Gwario Gwirion, or “the Friday of Stupid Spending”, which seems to sum it up nicely. Mwy o wybodaeth.

November is also known to some as Movember, the month when some men grow moustaches and rise money for charities related to men’s health. The word was first used in Adelaide in Australia back in 1999, when a group of blokes grew moustaches during November and raised money for an animal charity. Another group of men did something similar in Melbourne in 2004, and later set up the Movember Foundation charity.

The Welsh version of Movember is Tashwedd, which combines mwstash (moustache) and Tachwedd (November).

Moustache comes from the French moustache from the Italian mostaccio, from Ancient Greek μουστάκιον (moustákion), a diminutive of the Ancient Greek μύσταξ (mústax – upper lip), from the Proto-Indo-European *mendʰ- (to chew).

There was another word for moustache in English: kemp, from the Old English cenep (moustache), from Proto-Germanic *kanipaz (mustache, beard), from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵenu- (jaw) [source].

Diolch i Meinir a Josef am y geiriau

Funambulists

By Simon

I discovered an interesting word the other day funambulist [fjuːˈnæmbjʊlɪst], which is someone who funambulates, or performs funambulism on a tightrope or slack rope. Or in other words, a tightrope walker.

Slacklining in the park

It comes from the Latin fūnambulus (tightrope walker), from funis (rope) and ambulare (walk), either directly, or via the French funambule (tightrope walker).

Other words from the same ambulatory root include:

– to amble = an unhurried leisurely walk or stroll; an easy gait
– to ambulate = to walk
– ambulant = able to walk; walking, strolling
– ambulation = walking around
– ambulator = a walker, one who walks
– ambulophobia = a morbid fear of walking
– ambulomancy = a form of divination involving walking, usually in circles
– noctambulo = a noctambulist; a sleepwalker
– somnambulism = sleepwalking
– perambulate = to walk through; to inspect (an area) on foot
– ambulance

In French a tightrope is une corde raide, to walk a tightrope is marcher sur la corde raide, and a tightrope walker or funambulist is funambule, danseur de corde, équilibriste or fil-de-fériste.

Are there interesting words for tightrope walking in any other languages?

Have any of you ever tried tightrope, slack rope of slackline walking?

Sources: Wiktionary, Reverso Dictionary, The Free Dictionary

Parasols, umbrellas and gobos

By Simon

A parasol

At the French conversation group last night, one of the words that came up was parasol, which is used in English and French to refer to a small umbrella used as protection from the sun.

Parasol comes from the Italian parasole (parasol, sunshade), from para- (to shield) and sole (sun) [source].

Related words include:

– parapluie = umbrella
– para-soleil = sun visor, sunshade
– pare-son = gobo – a device placed around a microphone to shield undesirable sounds

The French word parer (to ward off; to protect; to adorn; to parry) seems to be related as well.

The word gobo is one I haven’t come across before. It is defined by Wiktionary as:

“a disc placed between a light and the illuminated object or actor in order to diffuse the glare; a template inserted over a light source in order to control the shape of the thrown light; a device used to shield a microphone from extraneous sounds.”

Gobo may be an abbreviation of go between, goes before optics,or graphical optical black out [source].

Other names for devices attached to microphones to shield unwanted sounds include pop filter, condenser windscreen, windscreen pop filter, windjammer, microphone cover, microphone wind shield, microphone windscreen muff, and acoustic screen [source]. Some may be brand names.

Have you heard of gobos? Do you have other names for them?

Self-habituation and practise

By Simon

Last night a friend excitedly pointed out that the Welsh word ymarfer (to exercise, practice; rehearsal; habit, custom; use) is made up of ym (self) and arfer (to use, employ; usage, practice, habit, custom, tradition, fashion, mode, manner).

So it could be literally translated as “habituating oneself” or “self-habituation”.

This may seem obvious when you think about it, but neither my friend nor I had noticed this before.

Related words include:

– ymarfer corff = physical education, training or exercise
– ymarfer dysgu = teaching practice, teacher-training
– ymarferol = practical
– ymarferoldeb = practicality; feasibility
– ymarferiad = exercise, practice, rehearsal; performance, action; use, habit, custom; conduct
– ymarferle = gymnasium
– ymarferwr = trainer, practioner

Sources: Wiktionary, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru

Ladders and Schools

By Simon

Ysgol ac ysgol - a school and a ladder

How are ladders and schools connected?

Well, in Welsh there is one word that means both ladder and school: ysgol [ˈəsgɔl].

The word ysgol, meaning ladder, comes from the Middle Welsh yscawl [ˈәsgaul] (ladder), from Latin scāla (ladder, stairs), from scandō (I climb, ascend, mount), from the the Proto-Indo-European *skend- (to jump).

Related words include:

– ysgol do/grib = roof-ladder
– ysgol raff = rope ladder
– ysgol ffenestr = window ladder
– ysgol bysgod = fish-ladder

The word ysgol, meaning school, comes from the Middle Welsh yscol (school), from the Latin schola (leisure time given to learning; schooltime; a school; a student body; an art gallery), from the Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ – leisure, free time, rest; lecture, disputation, discussion; philosophy; school, lecture hall).

Related words include:

– ysgol fabanod = nursery school
– ysgol feithrin = infant school
– ysgol gynradd/elfennol/fach = primary/elementary school
– ysgol uwchradd = secondary school
– ysgol gyfun = comprehensive school
– ysgol breswyl = boarding school
– ysgol hwyrol = night school
– ysgol Sul = Sunday school
– ysgol farddol = bardic school
– ysgol brofiad/profiad = school of life
– prifysgol = university, college, academy, seminary

A similar-sounding, though unrelated word is (y)sgôl [ˈəsgoːl] (squall; disaster, damage; disturbance, commotion, quarrel).

Sources: Wiktionary, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Old and Middle Welsh

Diolch i Diana i awgrymu’r pwnc ‘ma.

Troupers and Troopers

By Simon

One of the songs we sang last night in the ukulele group was Abba’s Super Trouper. One member of the group wondered whether trouper was spelled correctly, thinking that it should be trooper.

We discovered that they are in fact two different words:

Trouper = a member of a theatrical company (a troupe); a veteran performer; a reliable, hard-working and unselfish performer [Source].

Trooper = a soldier of private rank; a cavalry horse; charger; one who endures adversity or hardship with an attitude of stoicism and persistence [Source].

Both words come from the French word troupe (troop), from the Old French trope (band, company, troop), from the Frankish *thorp (assembly, gathering), from Proto-Germanic *þurpą (village, land, estate), from the Proto-Germanic *treb- (dwelling, settlement) [source].

However, the word trouper in the song has nothing to do with the above words – “Super Trouper” actually refers to spotlights used in stadium concerts [source]. So now the first line, “Super Trouper beams are gonna blind me”, makes sense.

This is a version of Super Trouper in Swedish:

A River of Words

By Simon

When Iceland was permanently settled from 874 AD, the settlers from Norway brought with them wives and thralls (þrælar – slaves/serfs) from Ireland. The Norwegians spoke a form of Old Norse, which developed into modern Icelandic, and borrowed a few words from the Irish.

Here are some examples:

  • á = river – from the Old Irish aub (river). The Old Norse word for river was fljót.
  • áin = (act of) driving – from Old Irish áin = (act of driving (animals etc))
  • bagall = crozier, from the Old Irish bachall (staff, crook, crozier). The Old Norse word for crozier / staff was stafr.
  • brekán = blanket, quilt, from the Old Irish breccán (speckled thing, striped or chequered stuff, plaid)
  • bjannak = blessing, from the Old Irish bennacht (blessing)
  • tarfur = bull, from the Old Irish tarb (bull). The Old Norse word for bull was þjórr.

Icelandic has also absorbed words from Latin, Greek, Middle Low German and Danish. Some of these words are no longer used, but new loanwords, mainly from Danish and English, are streaming into the language, especially in the fields of IT and medicine. One example I heard about was móment being used instead of augnablik (‘eye-blink’) for moment.

Sources: Wiktionary, Germanic.eu, eDil

Ounces, drams and pennyweights

By Simon

Weighing scales

How many drams are there in an ounce?

If you are familiar with the British Imperial System of measurement, you might know that there are 16 drams (dr) to an ounce (oz), and 16oz to a pound (lb).

There is an even smaller unit, the grain: there are 27.344 grains to a dram, 437.5 to an ounce, and 7,000 to a pound.

I knew about pounds and ounces, but hadn’t come across drams before, except as a Scottish word for a measure of whisky. Grains are also new to me as a unit of measurement.

When talking about weight, particularly people’s weight, using the imperial system, the stone is used, at least in the UK (1 stone = 14 pounds). For example, you might weigh 9 stone 7 (pounds). In the USA you would say 133 pounds, and in metric it would be 60.3kg. So if you want to weigh less, just give your weight in stones and pounds.

The next unit after the stone is hundredweight (cwt). In the UK a (long) hundredweight = 112 pounds, and in the US a (short) hundredweight = 100 pounds. Then there are 20cwt in a ton, so a UK (long) ton 2,240 pounds (160 stone), and a US (short) ton is 2,000 pounds.

The above are known as avoirdupois measurements. To weigh precious metals, troy units are used: 1 pound = 12 ounces. 1 ounce = 20 pennyweight. 1 pennyweight = 24 grains. Slightly simpler, but still more complex than the metric system.

Avoirdupois comes from the Old French avoir + du + pois (good of weight)

Troy comes from Anglo-Norman via the Middle English troye, and is possibly named after Troyes, a town in France where such weights were first used.

Pound comes from the Old English pund (a pound, weight), from the Proto-Germanic *pundą (pound, weight), from the Latin pondō (by weight), the ablative form of pondus (weight), from the Proto-Indo-European *pend-, *spend- (to pull, stretch).

Ounce comes from the Middle French once (ounce, a little bit), from the Latin uncia (1/12 part), from ūnus (one).

Dram comes from the Old French dragme, from the Late Latin dragma, from the Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ – unit of weight, a handful), from δράσσομαι (drássomai – I hold, seize).

Source: Wiktionary

Thanks for Ellen Jovin for inspiring this post.

Ambling Along

By Simon

Walking stick figure

An Icelandic word I learnt recently is (að) labba [ˈlapːa], which means ‘to walk slowly, to amble, to stroll’ [source].

Here are a few examples of usage:

  • Mér finnst gaman að labba um bæinn = I like to stroll around town
  • Ljúft finnst mér að labba á pöbbinn = I like to walk to the pub [source]
  • Ég labba ein heim eftir myrkur = I walk home alone after dark [source]

Other Icelandic words meaning to walk include:

að ganga [að ˈkauŋka] = to walk, go on foot, to climb; to move, run, go; to go around, be passed on [source].

Here are some examples:

  • að ganga á fjall = to climb a mountain
  • vagninn gengur á 20 mínútna fresti = the bus runs every 20 minutes
  • klukkan gengur = the clock is going
  • vélin gengur vel = the machine is running well
  • sagan gengur = the story is going about
  • þetta gengur vel = this is coming along fine
  • þetta gengur ekki = this won’t work, this won’t do
  • hvað gengur á? = what’s going on?

This word comes from the Old Norse ganga (to go, walk), from the Proto-Germanic *ganganą (to go, walk, step), from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (to walk, step) [source]. This is also the root of the Old English words gangan (to go, walk, turn out) and gang (a journey; way; passage), which is used in some northern dialects of English to mean to go – e.g. in Geordie gan yem = go home [source]. It’s modern meaning of a group of people probably comes from the idea of people travelling (ganging) together [source].

að troða [að ˈtʰrɔːða] = to trample, tread on, step on; to tread, walk; to stuff, fill, pack; to press forward, elbow one’s way [source].

This word comes from the Old Norse troða (to tread, walk), from the Proto-Germanic *trudaną (to tread, step on), which is also the root of the English words tread and trot.

að rölta [að ˈrœlta] = to stroll, saunter [source].

Incidentally, the English word amble comes from the Old French ambler (to walk as a horse does), from the Old Provençal amblar, from Latin ambulō (I walk) [source], and stroll comes from the German strollen, a variant of the Alemannic German strolchen, from Strolch (vagabond; rascal) [source].