[QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer]
Right, and they’re related to hotel / hostel and hostile.
[/QUOTE]
And hospital as well.
[QUOTE=Zeldar]
What about “murmur” and “murder” and “Murphy’s Law”? Would “mermaid” and “Merman” go in that group or a separate one?
[/QUOTE]
Murphy is an Irish name with Celtic, non-Greco-Roman roots, so wouldn’t be connected.
However, I’ve always wondered whether the name ‘Murphy’ has any relation to the popular name in India ‘Murthy’ - which presumably is sanskrit in origin.
I undertand that “science”, “shit” and “scissors” all come from the latin root “scindere” which means “to cut”
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas]
Wait a minute? Cock means SOFT?
[/QUOTE]
Wait a minute? “Poppycock” is a snack food?
[QUOTE=gigi]
Wait a minute? “Poppycock” is a snack food?
[/QUOTE]
Behold the deliciousness that is Poppycock!
A fantastic book about this very thing: I Always Look Up the Word Egregious"