# Unusual word origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 1, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635 "2016-09-01T05:37:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 2, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/21 "2016-09-02T11:39:51Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The color pink is [named after](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#Etymology_and_definitions) a flower, pinks. And was first used for centuries as a verb, “to pink”, as in to cut fabric in a way that resembles the frilly edge of the flower. Thus the type of scissors called “pinking shears”, a name that always baffled me until this subject came up. And I didn’t know why they were called pinking shears until this very moment. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/22 "2016-09-02T13:06:14Z")
French _coin_ usually means “corner” and sometimes “wedge”, and English _coin_ means a piece of metal currency. Both derive from Old French _coigne_ which could mean “corner”, “wedge”, or a die used to mint coins. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/23 "2016-09-02T13:59:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The color pink is [named after](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#Etymology_and_definitions) a flower, pinks. And was first used for centuries as a verb, “to pink”, as in to cut fabric in a way that resembles the frilly edge of the flower. Thus the type of scissors called “pinking shears”, a name that always baffled me until this subject came up. That Wikipedia article is rather out of date. “Pink” used as a noun for a color was used at the same time as the verb “to pink.” The wiki article says that the noun used as a color was first in the 17th century but there is an example in the OED from the 15th century. It wasn’t found until a text published in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/24 "2016-09-02T20:00:50Z")
The word money comes to us from the Greek temple of Juno Moneta(Juno the Admonisher) It was in her temple that coins were produced. Seeing the _sandy_ references above, calls to mind the etymology of the word ARENA. These places of combat, chariot races, tortures, etc were called arenas because sand was strewn everywhere, in order to soak up blood that would eventually be spilled. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/25 "2016-09-03T15:46:03Z")
The adjective ‘mammoth’ means ‘really large,’ tracing its origin to the extinct large beast. Mammoth ultimately comes from a local native word (Yakut or something) for the fossilized bones that would occasionally show up in melting ice/permafrost. They thought they were the remains of some great burrowing critter, so the word roughly translates to ‘burrower.’ ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/26 "2016-09-03T19:18:47Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > The word money comes to us from the Greek temple of Juno Moneta(Juno the Admonisher) It was in her temple that coins were produced. That reminds me of the origin of _ammonia_. It ultimately goes back to the Egyptian god Amun (Ammon), near whose temple at a certain oasis were deposits of ammonium chloride, which the Romans called _sal ammoniacus_, salt of Amun. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/27 "2016-09-03T21:39:34Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > The word money comes to us from the Greek temple of Juno Moneta(Juno the Admonisher) It was in her temple that coins were produced. Latin! You’re in the wrong peninsula, dude… ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/28 "2016-09-04T01:24:20Z")
One of my favorite word origin stories is that of “cosmetics”. It ultimately comes from the Greek word “cosmos” meaning “order”. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/29 "2016-09-04T01:36:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …escalator come from _escalier_ (stairs), or from _escaler_ (to climb)? Assuming French simply because that tends to be the source of a lot of Romance roots in English. In a round about way. It does have escaler as the base, but the derivation according to the guy who coined it is a bit complex. Here is the explanation: > **[Escalator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Etymology)** > > An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizontal. > Escalators are often used around the world in places where lifts would be impractical, or they can be used in conjunction with them. Principal areas of usage include department stores, shopping malls, airports, transit systems (railway/railroad stations),... The word “escalate” itself was not used until 1959. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/30 "2016-09-04T16:08:37Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Latin! > > You’re in the wrong peninsula, dude… Mea culpa! Did I get that right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/31 "2016-09-04T16:39:26Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > One of my favorite word origin stories is that of “cosmetics”. It ultimately comes from the Greek word “cosmos” meaning “order”. Rather as “economics” comes from “household matters.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/32 "2016-09-08T18:37:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > “Love”, as in the tennis term for zero, comes from the French “L’oeuf”, egg. As in, a goose egg. [Doesn’t look like it.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=love&allowed_in_frame=0) > [@](#): > > The sense “no score” (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of playing for love (1670s), that is, for no stakes. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/33 "2016-09-09T03:16:45Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > “Love”, as in the tennis term for zero, comes from the French “L’oeuf”, egg. As in, a goose egg. > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Doesn’t look like it.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=love&allowed_in_frame=0) > [@](#): > > The sense “no score” (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of playing for love (1670s), that is, for no stakes. The OED says no attribution is known. The goose egg isn’t suggested as logical. But, the sense of “love” proposed by entymonline is speculative. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/34 "2016-09-09T16:26:56Z")
I was hoping someone else would post this interesting or amusing derivation, since some may find it offensive: chrétien (Christian) --\> cretin ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635/35 "2016-09-09T16:35:21Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > One of my favorite word origin stories is that of “cosmetics”. It ultimately comes from the Greek word “cosmos” meaning “order”. I don’t understand how either cosmetics or the current usage of cosmos could be related to order. Perhaps an attribute of order that I’m ignorant of? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-word-origins/764635.md?page=1)