# Your favorite unexpected etymology **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641 "2013-06-22T17:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/41 "2013-06-24T16:07:54Z")
According to Chef Michael Smith, the word “restaurant” comes from establishments serving “restorative meals” that opened in Paris after the French Revolution. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/42 "2013-06-24T16:37:58Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > That online etymology is fascinating. I like this reference, for a word that died in infancy - [auto-car](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=autocar&allowed_in_frame=0) In French (in Quebec at least), an “autocar” is a long-distance highway bus optimized for comfort, what some might call a “highway coach”. Regular city buses, optimized for access, are called “autobus”. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/43 "2013-06-24T17:19:43Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > This follows for the Spanish _sombrilla_, _sombra_ meaning shadow. I assume that also works for “sombrero”? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Barbarian: originally a Greek word for foreigners who didn’t speak Greek. Supposedly when they talked it sounded like they were just saying “bar bar bar”. I was taught that barbarian came from the root word barber - meaning hair as in the barbarians had facial hair but a quick googling shows that barba is latin and just a happy coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/44 "2013-06-24T17:26:43Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > “isle” was not coined as a shortened form of “island”. > > “isle” [ISLE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/isle) > > “island” [ISLAND Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/island) > > > [@](#): > > > > from Anglo-French ile, isle, from Latin insula. “insula” also gives us “peninsula” (almost an island), insulation (the stuff you use to turn your house into a thermal island), and insular (what you call someone/something, when it is cut off from everyone/everything else; that includes inhabitants of an isle). Me? I like “disaster,” which comes from the italian/latin words for “bad stars,” arising from a time when people thought the stars controlled their destinies. ---
**Author:** ![Neodymium\_Lover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7993a0/32.png) [@Neodymium\_Lover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neodymium_Lover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/45 "2013-06-24T17:43:06Z")
“Neodymium” = \*neos \*+ _didymos_, which are Greek for “new” and “twin” respectively. When man first discovered neodymium, it was \*new \*and acted as a \*twin \*(being a magnet), so they named it as such 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/46 "2013-06-24T18:00:29Z")
“Grenade” comes from “Pomegranate”, because a small container with a hardish shell full of shrapnel is not unlike a pomegranate in form. I learned this in the middle of a game in which someone gave “the fruit that is like a grenade” as a clue for pomegranate in a game, and I was utterly and completely certain that they were talking about pineapples, since WW2 grenades were referred to as pineapples. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/47 "2013-06-24T18:02:08Z")
The elements erbium, terbium, ytterbium, and yttrium are all named after the town of Ytterby, Sweden, which is the location of the quarry where they were all discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/48 "2013-06-24T18:04:52Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Spanish has a word that weirdly went the other way – retaining an unnecessary “suffix.” Their word for “decal/sticker” is “calcamanía,” which originally meant just what it looks like: “sticker madness.” It referred to some widespread craze for stickers some decade or other, but later became the word for the stickers themselves. It would be like if, in some countries, the Beatles were called “Beatlemania.” English had the equivalent word “Decalcomania” but sensibly dropped the suffix, to create the word “decal”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/49 "2013-06-24T18:14:18Z")
A catapult and a ballista are both large military machines. A [catapult](http://images.travelpod.com/users/thepotvins/4.1202414040.11th-century-catapult-outside-of-the-castlex.jpg) has a long arm and throws a stone by leverage. A [ballista](http://www.siege-engine.com/mistaballista/p6170030.jpg) has a cable under tension and fires a projectile like a giant bow. But the meanings were originally reversed. In ancient times, a catapult was the device that looked like a giant crossbow and a ballista was the device that had the long throwing arm. At some point, the meanings got switched. ---
**Author:** ![Ottoerotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ottoerotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ottoerotic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/50 "2013-06-24T18:23:10Z")
Companion comes from the root ‘pan’ meaning ‘bread’ and ‘con’ meaning ‘with’ so a companion is literally someone you share bread with. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/51 "2013-06-24T18:42:33Z")
“Shit” and “scissors” come from the same IE root, meaning “to cut; cut off; separate.” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/52 "2013-06-24T19:03:26Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > “Grenade” comes from “Pomegranate”, because a small container with a hardish shell full of shrapnel is not unlike a pomegranate in form. I learned this in the middle of a game in which someone gave “the fruit that is like a grenade” as a clue for pomegranate in a game, and I was utterly and completely certain that they were talking about pineapples, since WW2 grenades were referred to as pineapples. “pomegranate” breaks down further as “grains of fruit,” with “pome-” coming from latin “pomum”. It’s where we get “pomade” (which used to be made with apples), “pomodoro,” (tomato-based pasta sauce) and “pommes frites,” which is made from “pomme de terre” (“apple of the earth,” i.e. potatoes). Likewise, “grain” comes from latin “granum,” which is where we get granules, granulomas, and other fun words. Corrupt “granum” a bit further, and you get corn (a grain). “Corned beef” is beef which has been preserved with “corns” (grains) of salt. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/53 "2013-06-24T19:25:32Z")
And a [grenadier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadier) was originally a specialty soldier who throws grenades. Grenadine a syrup made from pomegranates. I remember being surprised that sanguine shared roots with exsanguinate, but I think most here know that. My favorite (before learning some of this thread) had been the common root between buckeroo and vaccinations. Vaccinations originated from the first major immunization developed - using cowpox (vaccina, from the root _vaca_ for cow) to protect from smallpox. Buckeroo was an American repronounciation of _vaquero_, Spanish for cowboy, same root. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/54 "2013-06-24T19:40:50Z")
The word “cafeteria”, as in a restaurant where you serve yourself and then pay at the end, comes from the Spanish for “coffee shop”. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/55 "2013-06-24T19:43:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > My favorite (before learning some of this thread) had been the common root between buckeroo and vaccinations. Vaccinations originated from the first major immunization developed - using cowpox (vaccina, from the root _vaca_ for cow) to protect from smallpox. Buckeroo was an American repronounciation of _vaquero_, Spanish for cowboy, same root. And “mosey” from “vamos” (Spanish for “let’s go”). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/56 "2013-06-24T20:16:18Z")
_Politics_ comes from the Greek \*poly-, \*meaning “many”, and _tics_, meaning “blood-sucking insects”. OK, you’ve heard that before. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/57 "2013-06-24T20:23:07Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Ain’t no way I can top that, but until I read it, my answer was that _insane_ literally means “unclean.” It has the same root as _sanitary_. Hence sanitarium. I never thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/58 "2013-06-24T21:53:45Z")
\*Miniature \*does not come from the same root as other _min-_ words pertaining to smallness, such as \*minimum \*and _minor_. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/59 "2013-06-25T00:08:28Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > \*Miniature \*does not come from the same root as other _min-_ words pertaining to smallness, such as \*minimum \*and _minor_. Then where does it come from? Come on, man. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/60 "2013-06-25T00:18:25Z")
Governor comes from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). governer “govern,” from L. gubernare “to direct, rule, guide,” originally “to steer,” from Gk. kybernan “to steer or pilot a ship, direct” - which is the root of the etymology of the word “Cybernetics” as well. The application of this information to the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger is left to the reader. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641.md?page=4)