# Obvious word etymologies you realise after the millionth time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2015, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958 "2015-02-06T09:00:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/101 "2015-03-03T06:40:28Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > He didn’t tell us how Hank got hooked up with Henry. Maybe Henri is yet another form of John? Nope! Henry is from Heinrich, which is unrelated to John (it means ‘ruler of the home’). As to how Hank moved from John to Henry? Influence from the Dutch ‘Henk’ (which is a diminutive form of Hendrick, a Dutch form of Heinrich) is the most likely possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/102 "2020-07-14T15:34:18Z")
I only just realized today that “cafeteria” has the root “cafe”. (I rarely go to a cafeteria exclusively to buy coffee, but today I did.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/103 "2020-07-14T16:04:04Z")
Well, if you’re doing names, “Chuck” does not derive from “Charles.” It was first a term of endearment that could be applied to anyone. It was possibly derived from “chick,” which also was used in the same way. At some point, it attached itself to “Charles,” probably because the two words start the same. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/104 "2020-07-14T17:43:23Z")
This is pretty funny if you know the etymology of “avocado.” It comes from a Nahuatl word meaning “testicle.” ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/105 "2020-07-14T18:24:45Z")
I suddenly realized one day that somebody from Phoenix AZ could be called a Phoenician. I was surprised to find out that the Palestinians were the descendants of the biblical Philistines ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/106 "2020-07-14T18:49:31Z")
I came across the theory that it’s from Jan Cheese, a derogatory nickname for the Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/107 "2020-07-14T19:55:16Z")
> [@Nom\_de\_Plume](#): > > When I was learning Italian, I thought the word for lawyer, avvocato, was such a weird word. I immediately thought of the fruit, avocado. I was talking to my cousin, a lawyer, saying what a weird word Italians have for lawyer. Of course, he knew it meant an advocate. The funniest example of Ingrish I ever saw was a menu for a Tex-Mex restaurant in France, where the word _avocado_ was translated as _lawyer_. It was full of descriptions of dishes along the lines of ‘soft Taco shell filled with spicy chicken, tomato and lawyer.’ And that was just one of several errors. They also had a photo of a dummy that was clearly meant to be The Man With No Name. The costume was a reasonable approximation, but the face was [Stooky Bill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stooky_Bill). Sadly, the website no longer exists. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/108 "2020-07-15T21:51:35Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Also 1/60 of an hour is a minute (i.e. small) division of time and 1/3600 of an hour is a second (i.e. 2nd), even more minute (i.e. small) division of time. In fact the original name for second was “second minute” meaning the next smaller division. Here’s my contribution to this thread. I just learned yesterday (from an article in the Science Times about Koalas) that the Greek word for bear is arctos. It struck me as likely (and I just looked it up and it is true) that the word arctic must come from the constellation Ursa Major or big bear. Incidentally, the binary name for the brown bear is Ursus arctos, combining the Latin and Greek words for bear. The genus name for Koala is Greek pouched bear. Of course, it is not related to placental bears. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/109 "2020-07-15T22:56:45Z")
I never heard of sucker meaning baby-brained person. I always heard that Illinois is the Sucker State, named after the sucker fish in Illinois rivers. Later, Illinois was known for having a lot of country people fresh off the farm. (It’s not all Chicago y’know.) These people were known as Suckers, the way people from Indiana were known as Hoosiers. So gullible country bumpkins were referred to as Suckers by the sharpies in traveling medicine shows. By the way, Indianans might not mind being called Hoosiers, but we Illinoisans don’t like being called Suckers anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/110 "2020-07-16T10:52:38Z")
Seeing as this is revived : on the “variants of John” front, was anyone else introduced to the concept at an early age by the [Storybook International opening song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfHJgZptH-w)? ---
**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:** [July 16, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/111 "2020-07-16T15:29:47Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > This is pretty funny if you know the etymology of “avocado.” It comes from a Nahuatl word meaning “testicle.” And so we come full circle (er, full ovoid?), because the word “testify” also comes from “testicle”. Another etymology that isn’t at all obvious, but is amusing: In Latin, “otium” means “leisure time”, or “relaxation”. So the opposite of that, “negotium”, is what you’re doing when you’re not relaxing, i.e., work. Which is the origin of “negotiation”. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/112 "2020-07-16T17:04:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And so we come full circle (er, full ovoid?), because the word “testify” also comes from “testicle”. Not quite. Both testify and testicle have the same root = testis, but they evolved separately. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/113 "2020-07-16T18:07:24Z")
A recent _Jeopardy!_ category on Latin roots had a clue about a word derived from the Latin for “know,” the answer being “What is Science?” It suddenly hit me that I’ve known the words “science” and “omniscience” for my whole life without realizing the connection. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/114 "2020-07-16T18:14:16Z")
I remember when it dawned on me (I want to say it was middle school) that _discover_ was a word formed on the same pattern as _disrobe_ and _dismember_, basically “take the [root word] off or away.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/115 "2020-07-16T19:03:26Z")
The Latin prefix _dis-_ ‘apart’ is shortened from an original \*_dwis_, a form of _duo_ ‘two’. So the root meaning is like “in two different places.” This is the prefix that went into _direct_ and _dress_, combined with the root for straight, _reg_-. The root meaning is to straighten things in two different places, as in nailing up the upright supports of a house, or laying railroad tracks—I guess? This is one of the more abstract etymologies for trying to get to the meaning from the roots “two/straight.” _Direct_ is very abstract, but _dress_ is even more abstract. This garment I’m wearing that consists of a bodice and skirt in one piece? Well, I sometimes have to _straighten_ my _two_ girls in it after I put it on. Etymology is fun, but this one takes some work to think through. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/116 "2020-07-16T19:10:31Z")
By reducing roots to their most primitive, literal meanings, I’m subverting the [etymological fallacy](https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095759891). It’s an exploration of just how far a meaning can travel away from its literal root origin, and a reminder that meaning is not fixed to roots but can wander in interesting byways over time. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958/117 "2020-07-16T19:17:42Z")
Sorry, I just realized I’ve been digressing into non-obvious etymologies when the OP asked for obvious ones. Reminds me of an anecdote I read at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry: A math professor writes an equation on the board and says “Now you will see that this is obvious…” then pauses, says “Excuse me,” gathers up some papers, and goes to his office. Returns half an hour later and tells the class, “Yes, it’s obvious.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-word-etymologies-you-realise-after-the-millionth-time/711958.md?page=5)