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A-Z of English words with surprising origins



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 27th, 2008, 12:24 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Miles Vaches
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Posts: 14
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main...bowords126.xml

A-Z of English words with surprising origins

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 26/11/2008

Award-winning etymologist Henry Hitchings thought he did, until he
studied the origins of English

When I set out to write a study of the history of words, I thought I
had a decent grasp of where even the most curious English ones
originate. Those with the prefix al- - as in alchemy and alcohol -
often have Arabic roots, and many seafaring terms - skipper, schooner,
land-lubber - are Dutch.
Many words in common usage, like dachshund, flamenco and tattoo, have
foreign origins

But there were plenty of surprises. Who knew that marmalade, for
instance, while eternally associated in my mind with Paddington Bear,
is in fact Portuguese? So here is an A-to-Z of some of my favourite
English words that have been absorbed from and inspired by other
languages.

A is for…

Avocado, which comes from Nahuatl, a language spoken by the Aztecs.
Their name for it, ahuacatl, also meant ''testicle".

B is for…
advertisement

Bonsai. Although we think the tree-cultivating art is Japanese, it
originated in China.

C is for…

Coleslaw. Supposedly eaten in ancient Rome, it comes from the Dutch
kool-salade (''cabbage salad").

D is for…

Dachshund, a compound of the German Dachs (''badger") and Hund
(''dog"). Originally the breed was known in Germany as Dachs Krieger,
or ''badger warrior".

E is for…

Enthusiasm. From the Greek entheos, which means ''to be within
energy", suggesting being spiritually ''possessed".

F is for…

Flamenco, from the Spanish name for a Fleming (i.e. someone from
Flanders).

G is for…

Goulash, an invention by Hungarian herdsmen whose name derives from
gulyas.

H is for…

Hotchpotch, used in Norman legal jargon to denote property collected
and then divided.

I is for…

Intelligentsia, a collective term for the intellectual class which
derives from Latin but came to us from Russian.

J is for…

Juggernaut, Sanskrit for a giant carriage used to transport an image
of the god Krishna.

K is for…

Kangaroo, from gangurru, the large black male roo in the Guugu
Yimidhirr language.

L is for…

Lilac, which comes from the Persian nilak, meaning ''of a bluish
shade".

M is for…

Mandarin. The name of the fruit feels as though it ought to be
Chinese, but may well have come from Swedish.

N is for…

Namby-pamby. Nickname of the 18th-century poet Ambrose Phillips,
coined by the satirist Henry Careybecause of his sentimental verses

O is for…

Onslaught, from the Dutch aanslag - related to a word in Old High
German for a shower.

P is for…

Penguin, a compound of two Welsh words, pen and gwyn, which mean
''head" and ''white" - even though penguins have black heads. It is
likely that 'penguin' was at one time the name of similar, now extinct
bird which had a white patch near its bill.

Q is for…

Quack can be traced to the Dutch kwaksalver, literally someone who
hawked ointments.

R is for…

Regatta, from Venetian dialect, it originally signified any kind of
contest.

S is for…

Sabotage. Supposed to derive from the tendency of striking workers to
damage machinery by throwing shoes into it - sabot being an old French
word for a wooden shoe.

T is for…

Tattoo, Captain Cook saw Polynesian islanders marking their skin with
dark pigment. Long before that the word signified a signal or
drumbeat, a Dutch expression for 'Close off the tap', used to recall
tippling soldiers.

U is for…

Umbrella, appeared in English as early as 1609 (in a letter by John
Donne). In the middle of the 18th century the device was adopted by
the philanthropist Jonas Hanway as a protection against the London
rain.

V is for…

Vanilla, ''little sheath" in Spanish.

W is for…

Walnut, a modern rendering of the Old English walhnutu ('foreign
nut'), so known because it grew mainly in Italy.

X is for…

Xebec, a little vessel with three masts, from the Arabic shabbak, a
small warship.

Y is for…

Yogurt, a mispronunciation of a Turkish word.

Z is for…

Zero, whose immediate source is French or Italian, but its origins are
in Arabic - and before that in the Sanskrit word sunya, which meant
both ''nothing" and ''desert".

• 'The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English' by Henry
Hitchings (John Murray Publishing, £16.99) is available from Telegraph
Bookshop for £14.99 + £1.25 p&p. To order, call 0844 871 1515 or go to
books.telegraph.co.uk
  #2  
Old November 27th, 2008, 12:30 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Ariadne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 49
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

On 27 Nov, 11:24, Miles Vaches wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main...08/11/26/bowor....

A-Z of English words with surprising origins

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 26/11/2008

Award-winning etymologist Henry Hitchings thought he did, until he
studied the origins of English

When I set out to write a study of the history of words, I thought I
had a decent grasp of where even the most curious English ones
originate. Those with the prefix al- - as in alchemy and alcohol -
often have Arabic roots, and many seafaring terms - skipper, schooner,
land-lubber - are Dutch.
Many words in common usage, like dachshund, flamenco and tattoo, have
foreign origins

But there were plenty of surprises. Who knew that marmalade, for
instance, while eternally associated in my mind with Paddington Bear,
is in fact Portuguese? So here is an A-to-Z of some of my favourite
English words that have been absorbed from and inspired by other
languages.

A is for…

Avocado, which comes from Nahuatl, a language spoken by the Aztecs.
Their name for it, ahuacatl, also meant ''testicle".

B is for…
advertisement

Bonsai. Although we think the tree-cultivating art is Japanese, it
originated in China.

C is for…

Coleslaw. Supposedly eaten in ancient Rome, it comes from the Dutch
kool-salade (''cabbage salad").

D is for…

Dachshund, a compound of the German Dachs (''badger") and Hund
(''dog"). Originally the breed was known in Germany as Dachs Krieger,
or ''badger warrior".

E is for…

Enthusiasm. From the Greek entheos, which means ''to be within
energy", suggesting being spiritually ''possessed".

F is for…

Flamenco, from the Spanish name for a Fleming (i.e. someone from
Flanders).

G is for…

Goulash, an invention by Hungarian herdsmen whose name derives from
gulyas.

H is for…

Hotchpotch, used in Norman legal jargon to denote property collected
and then divided.

I is for…

Intelligentsia, a collective term for the intellectual class which
derives from Latin but came to us from Russian.

J is for…

Juggernaut, Sanskrit for a giant carriage used to transport an image
of the god Krishna.

K is for…

Kangaroo, from gangurru, the large black male roo in the Guugu
Yimidhirr language.

L is for…

Lilac, which comes from the Persian nilak, meaning ''of a bluish
shade".

M is for…

Mandarin. The name of the fruit feels as though it ought to be
Chinese, but may well have come from Swedish.

N is for…

Namby-pamby. Nickname of the 18th-century poet Ambrose Phillips,
coined by the satirist Henry Careybecause of his sentimental verses

O is for…

Onslaught, from the Dutch aanslag - related to a word in Old High
German for a shower.

P is for…

Penguin, a compound of two Welsh words, pen and gwyn, which mean
''head" and ''white" - even though penguins have black heads. It is
likely that 'penguin' was at one time the name of similar, now extinct
bird which had a white patch near its bill.

Q is for…

Quack can be traced to the Dutch kwaksalver, literally someone who
hawked ointments.

R is for…

Regatta, from Venetian dialect, it originally signified any kind of
contest.

S is for…

Sabotage. Supposed to derive from the tendency of striking workers to
damage machinery by throwing shoes into it - sabot being an old French
word for a wooden shoe.

T is for…

Tattoo, Captain Cook saw Polynesian islanders marking their skin with
dark pigment. Long before that the word signified a signal or
drumbeat, a Dutch expression for 'Close off the tap', used to recall
tippling soldiers.

U is for…

Umbrella, appeared in English as early as 1609 (in a letter by John
Donne). In the middle of the 18th century the device was adopted by
the philanthropist Jonas Hanway as a protection against the London
rain.

V is for…

Vanilla, ''little sheath" in Spanish.

W is for…

Walnut, a modern rendering of the Old English walhnutu ('foreign
nut'), so known because it grew mainly in Italy.

X is for…

Xebec, a little vessel with three masts, from the Arabic shabbak, a
small warship.

Y is for…

Yogurt, a mispronunciation of a Turkish word.

Z is for…

Zero, whose immediate source is French or Italian, but its origins are
in Arabic - and before that in the Sanskrit word sunya, which meant
both ''nothing" and ''desert".

• 'The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English' by Henry
Hitchings (John Murray Publishing, £16.99) is available from Telegraph
Bookshop for £14.99 + £1.25 p&p. To order, call 0844 871 1515 or go to
books.telegraph.co.uk


Part of what makes English such a beautiful language.
  #3  
Old November 27th, 2008, 01:13 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
White Spirit
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 34
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

Miles Vaches wrote:

B is for…
advertisement


I don't think it is...
  #4  
Old November 27th, 2008, 01:32 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Gerald Oliver Swift
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Posts: 432
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main...bowords126.xml
When I set out to write a study of the history of words, I thought I
had a decent grasp......

• 'The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English' by Henry
Hitchings (John Murray Publishing, £16.99) is available from Telegraph
Bookshop for £14.99 + £1.25 p&p. To order, call 0844 871 1515 or go to
books.telegraph.co.uk


The author of this (sad) piece probably never even thought to look at these
two sites:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...foreign_origin
http://www.krysstal.com/borrow.html

Gerry


  #5  
Old November 27th, 2008, 01:41 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Giovanni Drogo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 811
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, Miles Vaches wrote:

Regatta, from Venetian dialect, it originally signified any kind of
contest.


I may just repeat what I said a while ago (april 2008) in another thread
on r.t.e. As a native speaker of Italian, a language where double
consonants are significant, I'm always puzzled by the fact in English
you write "regatta" with 2 t's, while in Italian we write "regata" with
one t.

The reference to Venetian does not help, because Venetian is very
well known for its trend to REMOVE doubles present in the corresponding
italian word. They do not pronounce (nor write) doubles at all.

The enquiries I did in april showed that "regata" derives from Latin
"re-captare" i.e. "to catch again" or "to CAPTure again". Now the Latin
nexus -pt- renders in Italian as -tt- (compare Latin "captivus" with
e.g. English "captive" or Italian "cattivo" ... which however means
"bad, nasty" not "prisoner" ... from "captivus diaboli", "prisoner of
the devil"). So one could imagine an hypothetic italian *recattare from
recaptare (with participle "recapta", irregular). In Venetian the c
becomes g, and the double is systematically eliminated. Hence "regata".

It would be interesting to know when the word was imported in English.
In Venetian it should be documented at least from the XIII century.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
is a newsreading account used by more persons to
avoid unwanted spam. Any mail returning to this address will be rejected.
Users can disclose their e-mail address in the article if they wish so.

  #6  
Old November 27th, 2008, 01:46 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

On Nov 27, 10:24*pm, Miles Vaches wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main...08/11/26/bowor....

A-Z of English words with surprising origins

snip

D is for…

Dachshund, a compound of the German Dachs (''badger") and Hund
(''dog"). Originally the breed was known in Germany as Dachs Krieger,
or ''badger warrior".


The sausage dogs my aunt had couldn't tackle a large mouse, let alone
a badger.

Warrior?

Compared to what?
A chihuaua?

Higgs
  #7  
Old November 27th, 2008, 02:04 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Road_Hog
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins


"Miles Vaches" spammed the world
...

Snipped a load of spam.

So Bill Tong, which you are because you use the same email address
any particular reason you are spamming this group
under another sock puppet alias?


  #8  
Old November 27th, 2008, 02:58 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
DVH[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 108
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins


"Giovanni Drogo" wrote in message
news:alpine.LSU.1.00.0811271328100.25919@cbfrvqba. ynzoengr.vans.vg...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, Miles Vaches wrote:

Regatta, from Venetian dialect, it originally signified any kind of
contest.


I may just repeat what I said a while ago (april 2008) in another thread
on r.t.e. As a native speaker of Italian, a language where double
consonants are significant, I'm always puzzled by the fact in English you
write "regatta" with 2 t's, while in Italian we write "regata" with one t.

The reference to Venetian does not help, because Venetian is very well
known for its trend to REMOVE doubles present in the corresponding italian
word. They do not pronounce (nor write) doubles at all.

The enquiries I did in april showed that "regata" derives from Latin
"re-captare" i.e. "to catch again" or "to CAPTure again". Now the Latin
nexus -pt- renders in Italian as -tt- (compare Latin "captivus" with e.g.
English "captive" or Italian "cattivo" ... which however means "bad,
nasty" not "prisoner" ... from "captivus diaboli", "prisoner of the
devil"). So one could imagine an hypothetic italian *recattare from
recaptare (with participle "recapta", irregular). In Venetian the c
becomes g, and the double is systematically eliminated. Hence "regata".

It would be interesting to know when the word was imported in English.
In Venetian it should be documented at least from the XIII century.


Is there a reason you think it's not derived from "rigare"?

Think ships of the line, lines of battle...


  #9  
Old November 27th, 2008, 03:17 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Miles Vaches
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

On 27 Nov, 14:04, "Road_Hog" wrote:
"Miles Vaches" spammed the ...

Snipped a load of spam.

So Bill Tong, which you are because you use the same email address
any particular reason you are spamming this group
under another sock puppet alias?


yes, its called 'culture'....... ;-)
  #10  
Old November 27th, 2008, 03:37 PM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.australia+nz,rec.sport.rugby.union
Ariadne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 49
Default A-Z of English words with surprising origins

Giovanni Drogo wrote:
I may just repeat what I said a while ago (april 2008) in another thread
on r.t.e. As a native speaker of Italian, a language where double
consonants are significant, I'm always puzzled by the fact in English
you write "regatta" with 2 t's, while in Italian we write "regata" with
one t.

The reference to Venetian does not help, because Venetian is very
well known for its trend to REMOVE doubles present in the corresponding
italian word. They do not pronounce (nor write) doubles at all.


Spelling in English is not so regular. We spell "sonata"
thus. My favourite example of English spelling changing
is that "butterfly" was once "flutterby".

The enquiries I did in april showed that "regata" derives from Latin
"re-captare" i.e. "to catch again" or "to CAPTure again". Now the Latin
nexus -pt- renders in Italian as -tt- (compare Latin "captivus" with
e.g. English "captive" or Italian "cattivo" ... which however means
"bad, nasty" not "prisoner" ... from "captivus diaboli", "prisoner of
the devil").



Like rhyming slang. "Trouble: wife, From 'trouble and strife'"

So one could imagine an hypothetic italian *recattare from
recaptare (with participle "recapta", irregular). In Venetian the c
becomes g, and the double is systematically eliminated. Hence "regata".

It would be interesting to know when the word was imported in English.
In Venetian it should be documented at least from the XIII century.

--


Probably eighteenth century which I believe Italians
call something else - e.g. 1770.
 




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