# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/161 "2013-07-06T17:34:28Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > English had the equivalent word “Decalcomania” but sensibly dropped the suffix, to create the word “decal”. Otherwise known as a “Cockamaime”. (Slang, NY) ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/162 "2013-07-07T14:13:52Z")
I forgot my old favourite: “nostalgia” means, at root, “the pain of returning (home).” ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/163 "2013-07-08T15:12:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > “Marconi plays the mamba…” > > So, how does one play a poisonous snake? What kind of musical instrument would that be? A flute? A stringed instrument? The analysis I saw of this was that it was more along the lines of “playing the villain”, and referred to Marconi having taken credit for creating radio. A quick search shows that Tesla demonstrated a better version several years before. He was finally vindicated (post-humously), and the Marconi patents voided. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/164 "2013-07-08T15:41:41Z")
Something I learned today – apparently “fiasco” (an abject high profile failure) in Italian literally means “bottle”. There seem to be different stories floating around on what one has to do with the other, including the idea that when Renaissance glass makers attempted some intricate piece of work but failed, they’d take the resulting defective piece of blown glass and literally make a bottle out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/165 "2013-07-08T15:50:42Z")
A very straight-laced co-worker used the word “snafu”\* in a little. I asked her if she knew the etymology. She didn’t, so I told her. She was very embarassed, but agreed it is a useful word. \*SNAFU–Military acronym slang for situation normal: all fucked up. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/166 "2013-07-08T16:39:32Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A very straight-laced co-worker used the word “snafu”\* in a little. I asked her if she knew the etymology. She didn’t, so I told her. She was very embarassed, but agreed it is a useful word. > \*SNAFU–Military acronym slang for situation normal: all fucked up. On the other hand, those delicate flowers will often substitute “fouled” for “fucked.” ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/167 "2013-07-08T16:46:10Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A very straight-laced co-worker used the word “snafu”\* in a little. I asked her if she knew the etymology. She didn’t, so I told her. She was very embarassed, but agreed it is a useful word. > \*SNAFU–Military acronym slang for situation normal: all fucked up. And the inevitable: TARFU - things are really fucked up FUBAR - fucked up beyond all recognition JANFU - joint Army/Navy fuck-up ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/168 "2013-07-11T09:50:26Z")
I remember Tony Randall, as a guest on a late night talk show, decades ago, pointing out that the origin of “emergency” is childbirth: the emergence of a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/169 "2013-07-11T18:50:10Z")
Doubtful. [This site](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emergency)says it arises from “unforeseen occurrence requiring immediate attention,” from the 1630s, from _emerge_. No specific connection to babies mentioned. [This site](http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?110074-Etymology-of-the-word-quot-emergency-quot)discusses it (with wandering topic), dismissing the idea that the word originally refers to _fluids emerging from the body_. No discussion of babies there. _Emerge_ means to come into view, to become visible. An emergency is a condition that quickly comes into view, quickly becomes apparent. As opposed to some lingering condition, or something expected happening (like a woman’s period - she’s bleeding, but it is expected, not an emergency). ---
**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:** [July 12, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/170 "2013-07-12T02:08:59Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I remember Tony Randall, as a guest on a late night talk show, decades ago, pointing out that the origin of “emergency” is childbirth: the emergence of a baby. > [@Irishman](#): > > Doubtful. [This site](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emergency)says it arises from “unforeseen occurrence requiring immediate attention,” from the 1630s, from _emerge_. > > No specific connection to babies mentioned. > > [This site](http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?110074-Etymology-of-the-word-quot-emergency-quot)discusses it (with wandering topic), dismissing the idea that the word originally refers to _fluids emerging from the body_. No discussion of babies there. > > _Emerge_ means to come into view, to become visible. An emergency is a condition that quickly comes into view, quickly becomes apparent. As opposed to some lingering condition, or something expected happening (like a woman’s period - she’s bleeding, but it is expected, not an emergency). Maybe she didn’t know she was pregnant. 😃 ---
**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:** [July 12, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/171 "2013-07-12T03:02:35Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Doubtful. [This site](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emergency)says it arises from “unforeseen occurrence requiring immediate attention,” from the 1630s, from _emerge_. > > No specific connection to babies mentioned. > > [This site](http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?110074-Etymology-of-the-word-quot-emergency-quot)discusses it (with wandering topic), dismissing the idea that the word originally refers to _fluids emerging from the body_. No discussion of babies there. > > _Emerge_ means to come into view, to become visible. An emergency is a condition that quickly comes into view, quickly becomes apparent. As opposed to some lingering condition, or something expected happening (like a woman’s period - she’s bleeding, but it is expected, not an emergency). In a science fiction novel that I’m not naming to avoid (fairly minor) spoilers, a society calls itself “The Emergency” (or “The Emergents”), which had multiple meanings - the society arose in response to a emergent disaster, the society is now emerging out into the galaxy, and if you met them, you’re in an emergency (because they are very dangerous folks). ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/172 "2013-07-12T03:39:30Z")
I’d be intrigued if it also referred to “emergent behavior” (connected to chaos theory/complexity theory) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/173 "2013-07-12T20:45:52Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Doubtful. I posted from my recollection of what Randall said, and I’ll admit that I didn’t look it up anywhere to verify it, but I don’t think your cites are adequate to completely dismiss the claim. > [@](#): > > [This site](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emergency)says it arises from “unforeseen occurrence requiring immediate attention,” from the 1630s, from _emerge_. Um, no. That site provides a _definition_, and says the word derived from _emerge_ in the 1630s. It says nothing about what was emerging that led 17th century speakers to coin the word _emergency_. (Actually, you appear to have accidentally copied the definition from your second cite, who got it from [etymology.com](http://etymology.com). [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com), in your first link, offers a slightly different definition: “a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action.”) > [@](#): > > [This site](http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?110074-Etymology-of-the-word-quot-emergency-quot)discusses it (with wandering topic), dismissing the idea that the word originally refers to _fluids emerging from the body_. No discussion of babies there. So what? That’s just some guy posting on the Internet, like you or me. The fact that he hadn’t heard about the childbirth connection is neither here nor there. > [@](#): > > _Emerge_ means to come into view, to become visible. An emergency is a condition that quickly comes into view, quickly becomes apparent. As opposed to some lingering condition, or something expected happening (like a woman’s period - she’s bleeding, but it is expected, not an emergency). Lots of things come quickly into view that aren’t emergencies: a racecar; a mother playing peek-a-boo with her baby; lightning. I’m not saying that the childbirth connection to \*emergency \*might not be fanciful or flat out wrong, but it has always made a certain amount of sense to me. It may not be possible to determine whether it is true or not, but the evidence you have presented does nothing to persuade me it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/174 "2013-07-12T22:18:47Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A very straight-laced co-worker used the word “snafu”\* in a little. I asked her if she knew the etymology. She didn’t, so I told her. She was very embarassed, but agreed it is a useful word. > \*SNAFU–Military acronym slang for situation normal: all fucked up. Fairly sure that a children’s annual I had circa 1966 featured a story in which “Snafoo Electric” was a computer manufacturer. Someone either didn’t know the etymology or successful got crap past the radar. 😃 ---
**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:** [July 17, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/175 "2013-07-17T05:50:19Z")
Just saw this one on _ **Top Guns** _ on the H2 Channel: American soldiers were called “doughboys” in WWI because the large buttons on their khaki uniforms made them look like gingerbread men! The reason GIs were called “dogfaces” in WWII becomes evident, I think, once you look at the cartoons of Bill Mauldin: [http://www.warriortospiritualwarrior.com/photos/Bill%20Mauldin](http://www.warriortospiritualwarrior.com/photos/Bill%20Mauldin)’%20Willie%20&%20Joe.jpg 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/176 "2013-07-17T09:57:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > American soldiers were called “doughboys” in WWI because the large buttons on their khaki uniforms made them look like gingerbread men! I’d always imagined that they got that nickname because they were considerably better-fed than their allies, to the point of being at risk of becoming plump. Perhaps I was mixing-up the World Wars there. Thanks for correcting my misapprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/177 "2013-07-17T11:24:03Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I don’t think so. It’s a New World animal that the ancient Romans could not have ever seen. It comes from Spanish _jabalí_, from Arabic _jabali_, meaning ‘of the mountains’ (_jabal_ means ‘mountain’), i.e. ‘wild swine’. One of the many Arabic words in Spanish. Whereas \*javelin \*is from the French diminutive of the Old French word _javelot_, which came from ancient Celtic, cognate to Irish _gabhal_ ‘fork, forked branch’. The Spanish word for a female wild hog, that is, a female _jabalí_, is _jabalina_. I figure javelina and javalina (I’ve seen both) might not so much come directly from _jabalí_ as be creatively-spelled _jabalinas_ (modern spelling hadn’t been fixed yet, etc etc). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/178 "2013-09-01T19:17:28Z")
Just ran across this one: “gorilla” comes from Γόριλλαι, which appears to a name attributed to a “tribe of hairy women”. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/179 "2013-09-01T19:59:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Bird.” No one knows the origin; there are no cognates in other languages. It may come from “brood,” but no one has any idea where “brood” comes from. I find it fascinating the origin of such a common term can’t be traced. Also, the vowel sound is apparently unique to English. (Cite: [The Story of English](http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-English-Revised-Edition/dp/0142002313), which claims that the sound, also found in the word “nurse”, is “virtually unknown” in any other language.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641/180 "2013-09-01T22:01:29Z")
I guess you’re talking about R-colored vowels: > **[R-colored vowel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-colored_vowel)** > > In phonetics, an r-colored or rhotic vowel (also called a retroflex vowel, vocalic r, or a rhotacized vowel) is a vowel that is modified in a way that results in a lowering in frequency of the third formant. R-colored vowels can be articulated in various ways: the tip or blade of the tongue may be turned up during at least part of the articulation of the vowel (a retroflex articulation) or the back of the tongue may be bunched. In addition, the vocal tract may often be constricted in the regio It’s rare but not unique. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-unexpected-etymology/661641.md?page=10)