# Your favourite etymology trivia! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 27, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124 "2012-04-27T13:27:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/21 "2012-04-28T01:11:41Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > The word “Taser” is taken from a 1911 young adult adventure story. It is volume 10 of the Tom Swift series, and in it he has an “electric rifle” (they’re hunting elephants in Africa). > > Jack Cover, the inventor of the actual taser took the initials from the book: **T** homas **A**. **S** wift’s **E** lectric **R** ifle. TASER. I just researched this myself after a co-worker told me about it. It’s true, I’m surprised to find. Except that he had to cheat a litle – the books never gave Tom Swift’s middle name or initial, so he _assumedp_ the “A” in order to get T **A** SER ---
**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:** [April 28, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/22 "2012-04-28T01:40:47Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > After the Norman invasion? 😕 It’s taking a while then, because in England, a land-dwelling chelonian is still a tortoise. > > Those which are semi-aquatic are known as terrapins, though marine chelonians are called turtles. “Tortoise” referred to all three originally; “turtle” was the name of the bird. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/23 "2012-04-28T01:51:30Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Though it’s French, I think one of the most fascinating examples of this is the French word for “not”, becaus it’s so commonplace. > > It’s the same word as “step”, because it originally was part of a phrase that was parsed as “not [even one] step” (“non passum”, in Latin). But they kept the wrong part, and threw the "ne"away (though it’s still written when the full phrase is used.) The same thing obtains with various the French negatives: _ne… rien_ “nothing” (from Latin _res_ “thing”), _ne… personne_ “nobody,” _ne… aucun_ “none, no” (from Vulgar Latin _aliquunum_ “some one thing”), _ne… plus_ “no more”. In fact, in colloquial speech where “ne” is dropped, _plus_ has developed different, disambiguating pronunciations in the positive and negative in Quebec: /pløs/ for positive and /py/ for negative (so _y’en a plusse_ “there is more,” _y’en a pu_ “there is no more”). There are other, now archaic words for “not” similar in origin to _pas_: _ne… goutte_ (“not a drop”), _ne… mie_ (“not a crumb”), _ne… point_ (“not a dot”) – the last one is still sometimes used, though for an archaic effect. There are also archaic constructions where _ne_ is the only negative, such as _Qui ne dit mot consent_ (“who does not say a word, consents” – if you keep silent, you agree). ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/24 "2012-04-28T01:59:01Z")
I like the fact that, unlike most languages, the English word _queen_ is not just the feminine form of the word _king_, but a separate root, originally “woman” and hence “wife” and then “wife of the king,” and related to such words for “woman” as Swedish _kvinna_, Greek _gune_ (whence _gynecologist_), and Persian _zen_ (whence _zenana_). Another one that fascinates me is that the common English word _thing_ originally meant “parliament,” of all things, and still does in several languages (Icelandic \*þing \*, Norwegian _ting_, Manx _Tynwald_.) The root started off as meaning “appointed time,” thence “business,” thence “discussion of business,” “council,” “item for discussion at council,” “subject at hand,” and finally “thing.” Amazingly, a similar semantic development happened with Romance _cosa/chose/coisa_ “thing” – originally from Latin _causa_ “lawsuit” and hence “subject at hand” (_causa/cause_ still mean “lawsuit”). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/25 "2012-04-28T02:19:16Z")
Tom= cut (Greek) Sect = cut (Latin) So you have: insect (because it is cut into three parts, head, abdomen and thorax) and entomology. Dissection (cut apart) and anatomy (discrete parts of the body). ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/26 "2012-04-28T02:36:47Z")
When the telegraph was invented, they needed a device to amplify or repeat the signal so messages could travel greater distances. Instead of inventing a new word, they called it a **relay** based on this existing meaning of the word: **relay** : A fresh team, of horses or dogs, to relieve weary animals in a hunt, task, or journey. It’s as if the electrical signal was carried a distance by horse which got tired and was replaced by a fresh horse to continue carrying the signal. This post is extremely appropriate for my user name. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/27 "2012-04-28T10:16:01Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Tom= cut (Greek) > Sect = cut (Latin) > > So you have: > > insect (because it is cut into three parts, head, abdomen and thorax) and entomology. > > Dissection (cut apart) and anatomy (discrete parts of the body). And you have “shit”. No kidding. It’s probably from the same root as “sec” (which gives us “scissors”, etc.), and refers to a “little piece of the body that is cut from the rest (when you defecate)”. P.S. Merci, matt\_mcl…fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/28 "2012-04-28T16:38:42Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > I love etymology on a pure layman basis. Sometimes the origin of common words can be very fascinating and at best give a good insight into history. > > I kick it off with the word “trivia” (how apropos): > > Trivia is from the latin word trivium, tri=triple and via=way. > As far as I understand, back in the days (sometime, somewhere) the city’s three way street was a common meeting place for the working class/unemployed and other unprivileged people. From there the word trivia was used to denote something unimportant/vulgar and on to vernacular of today: information of little value. > > Got more? The [Trivium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium_%28education%29) was a division of the standard medieval university curriculum, so named because it consisted of three parts, grammar, rhetoric and logic. It was foundational for (and thus less advanced and perhaps considered more trivial than) the four subjects of the [Quadrivium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrivium): geometry, astronomy, arithmetic and music. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium_%28education%29#Description)**: > the contrast between the simpler trivium and more difficult quadrivium gave rise to the word “trivial”. What you have given us is one of those folk etymologies that somebody dreamed up one day because it sounded good, I think. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/29 "2012-04-28T16:59:29Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Through folk etymology\* “tortue” became “turtle.” To avoid confusion, the bird was renamed “turtle dove.” > \*A phrase that’s often misunderstood: it means people substituting familiar sounds or words for unfamiliar ones, not an urban legend about the word’s origin. As “people substituting familiar sounds or words for unfamiliar ones” is not etymology at all (as opposed to a process of interest to etymologists), I very much doubt that this is the (or even a) “correct” definition of “folk etymology”. On the other hand, the phrase’s use to mean “an urban legend about the word’s origin” is both appropriate, transparent, and useful (and certainly more appropriate than “urban legend”). Also, as already pointed out, the word “tortoise” is still in general use in Britain. Furthermore, “turtle” (without “dove”) to refer to the bird still seems to have been current in Shakespeare’s time, long after the Norman conquest. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/30 "2012-04-28T17:02:01Z")
In Canada, the common term for a federal or provincial electoral district is _riding,_ and in French, _comté_ (the official terms are _electoral district_, at least federally, and _circonscription_). Basically, the original electoral districts were indeed the counties, hence the French term. But as more and more English-speaking settlers moved to what’s now Ontario, they began to agitate for representation by population, so counties with sufficient population were subdivided into smaller electoral districts. Now, _riding_ is from Old English _thriding_, “a third part” (compare _farthing_, “a fourth part, a quarter of a penny”). The county of Yorkshire in England, owing to its large size, was historically divided into three parts, accordingly called thridings, or later ridings; so this came to mean “subdivision of a county.” So this word was transferred to the new electoral divisions that were smaller than a county. Both \*comté \*and \*riding \*stuck long after electoral divisions ceased to have any necessary relation to counties (which are of variable administrative importance today – generally they are substantially less powerful than U.S. counties). But the names still reflect the fact that in French Canada electoral divisions were counties and in English Canada they were smaller than counties. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/31 "2012-04-28T17:04:25Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > As “people substituting familiar sounds or words for unfamiliar ones” is not etymology at all (as opposed to a process of interest to etymologists), I very much doubt that this is the (or even a) “correct” definition of “folk etymology”. On the other hand, the phrase’s use to mean “an urban legend about the word’s origin” is both appropriate, transparent, and useful (and certainly more appropriate than “urban legend”). No, the definition of “folk etymology” is as given. Another example is _belfry_ – it was originally _berfrey_, but the first syllable was modified by association with the unrelated _bell_. The term “folk etymology” refers to how the modification arises through the assumption that it must be derived from the transparent “bell” instead of its actual, opaque origins. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/32 "2012-04-28T17:09:53Z")
Cite: [Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, p. 415:](http://books.google.ca/books?id=PJKrODvtm7IC&pg=PA693&dq=encyclopedia+linguistics%27&hl=en&ei=Vt7QTLKKDISglAf6uKzgDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=folk%20etymology&f=false) > [@](#): > > Process of word formation based on a reinterpretation of meaning and a reformation of an archaic, foreign word modeled after a similar-sounding known word with a similar meaning. Through this diachronic linguistic process, incomprehensible words are (secondarily) motivated, i.e. their meanings are made transparent through a seemingly plausible interpretation. [Examples given are _sparrowgrass_ for asparagus, French _choucroute_ “cabbage-crust” for _Sauerkraut_, and German _Hängematte_ “hang-mat” for Arawak _hamaka_ “hammock”.] ---
**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:** [April 28, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/33 "2012-04-28T18:18:02Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Both \*comté \*and \*riding \*stuck long after electoral divisions ceased to have any necessary relation to counties (which are of variable administrative importance today – generally they are substantially less powerful than U.S. counties). But the names still reflect the fact that in French Canada electoral divisions were counties and in English Canada they were smaller than counties. Cool! While we’re doing political geographic units, the _stan_ in the “-stans” (Pakistan, Aghanistan…) is from an Old Persian word related to Englisg _state_ – all goes back to an Indo-European root basically meaning “to stand”. And…the “-pore” in, say, Singapore is cousin to the “-polis” in, for example, Indianapolis. Both refer to a city-sized group of people (one’s Sanskrit, the other Greek). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/34 "2012-04-28T20:45:36Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > No, the definition of “folk etymology” is as given. Another example is _belfry_ – it was originally _berfrey_, but the first syllable was modified by association with the unrelated _bell_. The term “folk etymology” refers to how the modification arises through the assumption that it must be derived from the transparent “bell” instead of its actual, opaque origins. So the phrase “folk etymology” has now undergone “folk etymology” (as you define it) and achieved a more transparent meaning. And a good thing too. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/35 "2012-04-28T22:14:09Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So the phrase “folk etymology” has now undergone “folk etymology” (as you define it) and achieved a more transparent meaning. And a good thing too. No, that’s an opposite process. You’re talking about misinterpreting its \*meaning \*according to its _form_. Folk etymology is altering the \*form \*to go with the _meaning_. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/36 "2012-04-29T00:49:17Z")
The word “OK” comes from the phrase “oll korrect”, which was a humorous misspelling of “all correct” due to a meme from the first half of the 1800s. This was helped along by Martin Van Buren’s 1840 presidential campaign; being from Kinderhook, NY, he took the nickname Old Kinderhook and used “OK” in his campaign material. I’m sure this demonstrates that the English language was in dire straits at the time and completely gone by the succeeding decade. ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/37 "2012-04-30T16:10:05Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The word “OK” comes from the phrase “oll korrect”, which was a humorous misspelling of “all correct” due to a meme from the first half of the 1800s. This was helped along by Martin Van Buren’s 1840 presidential campaign; being from Kinderhook, NY, he took the nickname Old Kinderhook and used “OK” in his campaign material. > > I’m sure this demonstrates that the English language was in dire straits at the time and completely gone by the succeeding decade. pretty sure this is urban legend/myth/bill-brysonish. do you have a convincing cite? ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/38 "2012-04-30T16:32:33Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > In metamorphosis, meta- means change and morph- means form. Therefore, people saying something “morphs” or is “morphing” meaning to change or changing are using the wrong part of the word. > > Cite: [Metamorphosis - Etymology, Origin & Meaning](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=metamorphosis) I like it! Just like when people refer Leonardo da Vinci as simply da Vinci - they really aren’t saying anything. His name literally means: Leonardo from Venice. Leonardo makes sense. Leonardo da Vinci makes sense. da Vinci doesn’t. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/39 "2012-04-30T19:24:48Z")
Huh, I always figured that a “riding” was an area of land which could easily be covered by a man on horseback. You learn something new every day. My contribution: “Negotiate”, from the Latin “negotium”, for work or business to be conducted. Which in turn comes from “neg”, not, plus “otium”, leisure time. So negotiating is what you’re doing when you’re not relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/40 "2012-04-30T20:03:36Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > pretty sure this is urban legend/myth/bill-brysonish. do you have a convincing cite? Pretty much every reputable etymological dictionary at this point, but [Cecil Adams does a pretty good job of it, too.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/503/what-does-ok-stand-for) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124.md?page=3)