I came across the word theodolite (a type of instrument used in surveying) and was curious about its origin, so I looked it up on dictionary.com. It said that theodolite is probably a corruption of the word alidade. How is this possible? This makes no sense to me, as the pronounciations do not appear similar.
OED states the origin is unknown. Its first recorded use was in 1572, as “theodelitus.” It goes on to state that the term originated in England, and
Joe, actually dictionary.com said that “theolodite” is a corruption of the phrase “the adilade”. IOW, the “the” (band name!) got tacked on to the beginning of “alidade”.
This kind of thing happens in languages now and then. “Nickname” in English was originally “an ekename”.
::smacking forehead with palm::
bordelond, you are correct. Somehow, I missed the word “the”.
What’s interesting, too, is that “al” is Arabic for “the.” So someone who mentions “the theodolite” is, etymologically, saying “the the the revolving radius.”
(There are lots of English words containing an assimilated “al,” but this is possibly the only one that has two definite articles assimilated into it.)
Hmmm…it does sound somewhat convincing, to tell you the truth, but the OED is calling BS on that one. “The alidade” -> “theodolite” sounds possible, but I’m gonna stick with the OED’s verdict.