# Innocently-Derived Words That Sound 'Sinister'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115 "2021-08-05T18:18:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/1 "2021-08-05T18:18:51Z")
‘Sinister’ being just one example. Sinister just means _left_ in Latin. I don’t know how it got the other connotation. I don’t know about you. But the Emperor Caligula’s name sounds very sinister to me. But it just means ‘little boots’. When he was a little boy, he’d troup with the soldiers. And they nicknamed him ‘little boots’ because of the little facsimile of boots he wore. Hey, I consider it an example of this phenomenon 🙂 . Does anyone have any other examples 🙂 ? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/2 "2021-08-05T18:42:37Z")
The infamous “niggardly”. I think that is what you are looking for? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/3 "2021-08-05T19:07:28Z")
Before a certain failed artist turned murderous dictator co-opted it for branding purposes, the **swastika** was an ancient religious icon in the cultures of Eurasia, used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. But now just the word itself, let alone the icon, conjures up all kinds of sinister intent. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/4 "2021-08-05T19:13:58Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Sinister just means _left_ in Latin. I don’t know how it got the other connotation. Left-handed people, being a minority, are “others.” Humans, being tribal assholes, tend to distrust people who are different. So left-handedness was considered unlucky, inauspicious, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/5 "2021-08-05T19:18:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > So left-handedness was considered unlucky, inauspicious, etc. And, in French, “left” is “gauche,” which also means “awkward” or “clumsy.” ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/6 "2021-08-05T21:48:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But now just the word itself, let alone the icon, conjures up all kinds of sinister intent. Now now now - please. Hindus are a very small minority in Europe and the US, but we are still here, and the Swastika is still used as a symbol in our worship / markings of auspicious happenings. We can’t let one European demon hijack our entire culture. Its bad enough, that we have had everything looted from India by colonists. So here in the US, I have seen Hindu temples and households display the swastika as part of other hindu symbols. And Jewish people I’ve talked with, have not had any problems with it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/7 "2021-08-05T22:01:04Z")
“penis” mans “tail” “solecism” means the manner of speech of the Solonians ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/8 "2021-08-05T22:19:09Z")
It’s more than just Hinduism-- My Catholic church (well over a century old) has swastikas incorporated as a design element in some of the floor tiling. It’s a symbol that fits in a nice niche of the overlap between “simple” and “interesting”, and so it’s no wonder that it’s showed up in a wide variety of cultures across the globe. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/9 "2021-08-05T22:20:33Z")
North American Natives also used it, as well as the Norse. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/10 "2021-08-05T22:39:58Z")
@am77494, I meant no offense. I’m glad that the Hindu community hasn’t allowed a few years of misuse of their ancient holy symbol to preclude the continued use of it. And I think it’s very unfortunate that it now has the negative connotation that it does in the west, if displayed without the viewer’s understanding of its use or intent. I hope there is a time again someday when the spiritual meaning is the primary one most people think of, as well as the primary one intended, when the Swastika is displayed. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/11 "2021-08-05T22:48:15Z")
**Slut**. The meaning of this word has changed quite a bit over the centuries. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/12 "2021-08-05T22:52:47Z")
Ohrenreinigung. It sounds like a hellish Wagnerian twilight of the gods, but translates to “ear cleaning”.\* \*for our spaniel Pluto, it sounds just like what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/13 "2021-08-05T23:15:03Z")
grotesque ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/14 "2021-08-05T23:41:06Z")
There was a lot of debate about visitors being offended by swasticas in Japan when the Olympic tourists were to flock in in 2020… > **[In Japan, a debate about swastikas takes on new urgency](https://theoutline.com/post/6998/buddhist-temple-swastika-japan-maps-olympics-2020)** > > A proposal to limit the symbol’s public prominence ahead of the 2020 Olympics clashes against centuries of cultural history. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/15 "2021-08-05T23:43:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s more than just Hinduism-- My Catholic … That is so cool to know. > [@solost](#): > > I meant no offense. No offense taken. > [@solost](#): > > I’m glad that the Hindu community hasn’t allowed a few years of misuse of their ancient holy symbol I am not good at History, but its not just a symbol for the Hindus, but many European cultures (pre Christianity) used the symbol too. Troy comes to mind. And Hindus have subdivisions into many different communities, and a “Hindu community” is not a meaningful grouping for Hindus in the US, just like say a “European Community”. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/16 "2021-08-06T00:32:53Z")
Pulchritudinous. It means beautiful. It sounds like you’re suffering from a mediaeval disease. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/17 "2021-08-06T00:45:43Z")
If you extend it to embarrassing things… I guess you could lie prostrate on the exam table to have your prostate checked, supposing you’re a man. Similarly: # hysteria (n.) nervous disease, 1801, coined in medical Latin as an abstract noun from Greek hystera “womb,” from PIE \*udtero-, variant of \*udero- “abdomen, womb, stomach” (see [uterus](https://www.etymonline.com/word/uterus?ref=etymonline_crossreference)). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. With abstract noun ending [-ia](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-ia?ref=etymonline_crossreference). General sense of “unhealthy emotion or excitement” is by 1839. > **[Hysteria - Etymology, Origin & Meaning](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hysteria)** > > "womb," from PIE \*udtero-, variant of \*udero- "abdomen, womb, stomach" (see uterus).… See origin and meaning of hysteria. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/18 "2021-08-06T14:17:30Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Now now now - please. > > Hindus are a very small minority in Europe and the US, but we are still here, and the Swastika is still used as a symbol in our worship / markings of auspicious happenings. > > We can’t let one European demon hijack our entire culture. Its bad enough, that we have had everything looted from India by colonists. > > So here in the US, I have seen Hindu temples and households display the swastika as part of other hindu symbols. And Jewish people I’ve talked with, have not had any problems with it. I think most people by now are familiar with the history, and it is good that swastikas can be displayed on buddist and Hindu temples, and (rightly) without controversy. However, it’s also true that the swastika is not merely something that was used by the Nazis in WWII but something used in the modern world every day, by racist groups as a symbol of hate and intimidation. Therefore it is still sinister to many, and it’s a valid answer to the OP. Also, while temples are ok for the swastika, most other situations are less clear. Let’s say there’s a tshirt that prominently displays a swastika among other religious iconography. Did the manufacturer include that symbol for the right reasons? Is the person wearing it for the right reasons? Hard to say, and that’s why people who don’t want to look like a white power wacko play safe and avoid the symbol. Not because they are ignorant of the original history. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/19 "2021-08-06T16:25:39Z")
Kumquat. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115/20 "2021-08-06T16:29:24Z")
Fagging, Fagged, Faggot (bundle of sticks) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocently-derived-words-that-sound-sinister/948115.md?page=2)