# Cavalry or Calvary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277 "2009-06-19T08:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/21 "2009-06-19T15:32:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I would too, but it’s nice and comfy here on my chaise lounge. I know who Chaise Guava is, but who the heck is Chaise Lounge? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/22 "2009-06-19T16:03:56Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > [Mounted on horses, but not soldiers.](http://calgarystampede.com/) I’m sure that’s where the name comes from, though. 😉 You’d think, but it’s really named after a place in Scotland. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/23 "2009-06-19T16:04:55Z")
Common errors in English (at least one version) is given at this guy’s website: [Paul Brians](http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/24 "2009-06-19T16:18:59Z")
From the BBQ Pit: [Calvary is the hill Jesus was crucified on.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=504713) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/25 "2009-06-19T16:36:03Z")
So is it a cavalcade or a calvacade? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/26 "2009-06-19T16:45:14Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I know who Chaise Guava is, but who the heck is Chaise Lounge? Chaise longue, really. Chaise lounge is a secondary usage. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/27 "2009-06-19T16:49:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > There is quite a difference between the Calgary Stampede and a cavalry stampede. During the 1917 Allenby campaign of WWI, cavalry from Calgary charged up Calvary. (They were not accompanied by troops from Voilà Voilà, Washington.) Sir, I salute you! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/28 "2009-06-19T16:50:53Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > There is quite a difference between the Calgary Stampede and a cavalry stampede. During the 1917 Allenby campaign of WWI, cavalry from Calgary charged up Calvary. (They were not accompanied by troops from Voilà Voilà, Washington.) You’ve been saving that one up since before you lost your internet connection, haven’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/29 "2009-06-19T16:51:37Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Chaise longue, really. Chaise lounge is a secondary usage. _whoosh_ And it’s not a secondary usage, it’s a corruption. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/30 "2009-06-19T16:52:08Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Viola! Cello! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/31 "2009-06-19T16:56:57Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Cavalry, blokes on horses, is ultimately from the Latin _caballus_, a horse. Calvary, name of the place of the crucifixion, is from the Latin _calvaria_, a skull, because the Aramaicc name of the place, usually anglicised today as Golgotha, means “place of the skull”. > > See, if only people still had a proper classical education, these confusions wouldn’t arise. The etymology is a bit more interesting than that. The Latin word for horse was “equus.” But the modern Spanish word for horse (caballo) and the modern French word for horse (cheval) come from a Latin slang word, caballus. Caballus meant, basically, a flea-bitten old nag! Why? Who knows- one speculation is that, in the hinterlands of the Roman empire, one was more likely to see a broken down old plug pulling a wagon than a prime warhorse. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/32 "2009-06-19T17:43:03Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Why? Who knows- one speculation is that, in the hinterlands of the Roman empire, one was more likely to see a broken down old plug pulling a wagon than a prime warhorse. Well, the Italian for horse is cavallo, so maybe in the heartland of the Roman empire, one was also more likely to see a broken down old plug… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/33 "2009-06-19T17:50:00Z")
I spent two years in the 1st Cal Division. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/34 "2009-06-19T17:50:31Z")
I think I’ve read that the usage of “caballo” or its cognates as the primary term originated in Spain, and spread thence to the rest of the Empire (including Italia). And one easy way to remember the difference is the Cleveland basketball team. They’re the “Cavs”, short for “Cavaliers”, not the “Calvs” (“Cavalier”, of course, being the term for a warrior mounted on horseback). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/35 "2009-06-19T17:55:56Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _whoosh_ > > And it’s not a secondary usage, it’s a corruption. I was being polite. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/36 "2009-06-19T19:19:07Z")
In his reminiscences a veteran of Waterloo (184 years ago, yesterday) says that the man next to him in one of the infantry squares cried out “Here comes the calvary,” every time the masses of French dragoons, hussars, carabineers, cuirassiers and horse chasseurs came pounding up the ridge. While the guy was amusing it was sort of a relief when he was finally wounded and shut up. So the mispronunciation is hardly a modern fault. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/37 "2009-06-19T20:30:34Z")
> [@Spavined\_Gelding](#): > > In his reminiscences a veteran of Waterloo (184 years ago, yesterday) says that the man next to him in one of the infantry squares cried out “Here comes the calvary,” every time the masses of French dragoons, hussars, carabineers, cuirassiers and horse chasseurs came pounding up the ridge. While the guy was amusing it was sort of a relief when he was finally wounded and shut up. > > So the mispronunciation is hardly a modern fault. So ignorance is a “traditional” thing. That’s good to know. When someone corrects my ignorance I can always say I am just being traditional. ---
**Author:** ![Brasil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@Brasil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brasil)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/38 "2009-06-19T21:35:35Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Cavalry, blokes on horses, is ultimately from the Latin _caballus_, a horse. Calvary, name of the place of the crucifixion, is from the Latin _calvaria_, a skull, because the Aramaicc name of the place, usually anglicised today as Golgotha, means “place of the skull”. > > See, if only people still had a proper classical education, these confusions wouldn’t arise. Actually the Latin word for horse is _equus_. Caballus is from vulgar latin and is derived from cavalry, not the other way. Cavalry comes from the sanscrit _aqva_, meaning platform. The original cavalry consisted in soldiers in platforms in the back of elephants. ---
**Author:** ![Stathol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Stathol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stathol)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/39 "2009-06-19T22:06:00Z")
Huh. Apparently the English word “chivalry” derives from the French word for cavalry (_chevalerie_). I did not know that. So when you say that a mounted knight is chivalrous … ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277/40 "2009-06-20T14:37:20Z")
> [@Brasil](#): > > Actually the Latin word for horse is _equus_. Caballus is from vulgar latin and is derived from cavalry, not the other way. > Cavalry comes from the sanscrit _aqva_, meaning platform. The original cavalry consisted in soldiers in platforms in the back of elephants. Cite? Except the equus part, I know that. But I don’t believe that _aqva_ is Sanskrit for anything but “horse,” I don’t believe that Latin derived anything from _aqva_ but _equus_, (more accurately, that they share a common root), and I don’t believe elephants had anything to do with it. Furthermore, the word is usually considered Gaulish in origin, and was originally derogatory (I saw one theory that it’s related to words meaning “pant” (breathe hard), as in a winded horse). Its adoption by the vulgar is attributed to soldierly complaining on the Roman frontier. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cavalry-or-calvary/500277.md?page=3)