# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/61 "2012-05-01T16:21:33Z")
[Pasta alla Puttanesca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_alla_puttanesca) = pasta the way a whore makes it. The origin I heard is from Bitchin’ Kitchen; Nadia G. describes it exactly as above, and explains that whores only got one day a week to shop so they bought things that lasted longer and threw them all together in the sauce. The other origin I heard (from a friend) is that’s a quick dish to make between clients. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/62 "2012-05-01T17:18:25Z")
The word “marlin” as in the fish comes from the “moor line,” corrupted into “marlin” by sea-going types (cf. gunwale, forecastle, boatswain, etc.). Marlins (moor lines) were worked with a spiked tool called the marlinspike (somewhat resembling the marlins bill), so the “marlinspike fish” became shortened to “marlin.” “Electron” is the Greek word for “amber.” The word “electric” preceded it in English, meaning “like amber,” referring to amber’s “static cling” properties. The city “Istanbul” is a Turkish corruption of a Greek phrase that just means “to the city.” ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/63 "2012-05-01T17:45:40Z")
But why did \*Constantinople \*get the works? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/64 "2012-05-01T18:10:17Z")
Mine are on a slightly different tack Butterfly has very different words in the romance languages, which is quite unusual: Papillon in French Mariposa in Spanish Farfalla in Italian Borboleta or panapanã in Portuguese Also, in the germanic languages: Schmetterling or tagfalter - German Sommerfugl - Danish etc. [More about butterfly etymology](http://www.insects.org/ced4/etymology.html) ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/65 "2012-05-01T18:10:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > This isn’t etymology, strictly speaking, but it’s interesting anyway. > > In the English language, almost all the names of common farm animals (pig, cow, chicken, sheep) are of Germanic original. However, almost all of the names for the meats that come from these animals (pork, beef, poultry, mutton) are of French origin. > > Which sort of makes sense… you have to figure that, in medieval England, it was peasants of German descent who raised the animals and it was rich noblemen of French descent who ate the meat. I’ve also heard it said that in English, many of your concrete nouns (“plank,” “house,” “door,” “plate,” and so on) are Germanic while abstract nouns (“innovation,” “philosophy,” “intelligence,” “compassion,” and the like) are French/Latinate. For much the same reason: your peasants are much more concerned with daily survival, while your nobles have the time to talk about concepts and ideas. I don’t know how true this is, but it’s fun to think about. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/66 "2012-05-01T18:17:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In English, a zero is sometimes called “a goose egg.” That same figure of speech has long been used in France. > > In French, the word for egg is “l’oeuf.” And that’s why “love” is the term used for zero in tennis. I hope that’s true. I’ve always wondered that. > [@Colophon](#): > > You are correct, except that it means “from [Vinci](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinci,_Tuscany)”, not “from Venice”. Leonardo was from Tuscany. > > Also, regarding “trivia”, my dictionary says it is from Latin “trivialis”, meaning “belonging to the streets; common”, which does come from \*trivium \*meaning a junction of three roads. So perhaps Bryson was right? Right you are. I’ve been propagating this mistruth for years. I wonder where I got the idea that Vinci was Italian for Venice? Thanks for the correction! ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/67 "2012-05-01T18:28:11Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > I hope that’s true. I’ve always wondered that. The OED disagrees, and [so does Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/272/why-is-tennis-scoring-so-weird). ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/68 "2012-05-01T18:34:09Z")
On the flip side, honeymoon in various languages is a direct translation of the word “honey” and “moon” Lune de miel in French, miel luna in Spanish, etc. However, German is flitterwochen - sparkle or tinsel (or possibly according to the German wiki, from the old high german for caress) week. Honigmond has been used in German for both honeymoon and for July. german cites: [Honeymoon](http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFlitterwochen&act=url) and [July](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJuli) ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/69 "2012-05-01T18:51:04Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I’ve also heard it said that in English, many of your concrete nouns (“plank,” “house,” “door,” “plate,” and so on) are Germanic while abstract nouns (“innovation,” “philosophy,” “intelligence,” “compassion,” and the like) are French/Latinate. For much the same reason: your peasants are much more concerned with daily survival, while your nobles have the time to talk about concepts and ideas. > > I don’t know how true this is, but it’s fun to think about. True. That’s why the regular Spanish word for “rusty”, _oxidado_, sounds so silly to us – “rusty” feels earthy and strong, while “oxidated” feels scientific and weak. But native Spanish speakers don’t feel that dichotomy, because their \*normal \*vocabulary comes right from Latin (most of it, anyway). (Yes, I know, there are arguably earthier terms that can be used for “rust” in Spanish, like _sarro_, but that really means “schmutz” or “crud” in general.) A similar example is the road sign “_Disminuya su velocidad_.” Or, as we would say, SLOW DOWN! (Even Spock wouldn’t say something as professorial as “diminish your velocity”). ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/70 "2012-05-01T19:16:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In English, a zero is sometimes called “a goose egg.” That same figure of speech has long been used in France. > > In French, the word for egg is “l’oeuf.” And that’s why “love” is the term used for zero in tennis. Nitpick - actually, a duck’s egg. And in cri8cket, when a player scores zero, it is usually shortened to just [duck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_%28cricket%29). ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/71 "2012-05-03T00:12:37Z")
I read one last night that I thought was interesting. Parasite comes from the Greek word parasitos, which meant, long ago, “dinner guest”. In Republican and Imperial Rome the term was applied to clients, who were poor men who waited upon a wealthy one as his followers. In time, clients were thought of as spongers, or uninvited guests. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/72 "2012-05-03T04:30:40Z")
Something I heard in passing long ago and have never bothered checking up on is the origin of the hip term **dig** , as in “Can you dig it?” Supposedly, it’s short for **digest** , as in “to digest information”. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/73 "2012-05-03T05:37:38Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Something I heard in passing long ago and have never bothered checking up on is the origin of the hip term **dig** , as in “Can you dig it?” Supposedly, it’s short for **digest** , as in “to digest information”. O good Lord. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/74 "2012-05-03T13:59:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Nitpick - actually, a duck’s egg. And in cri8cket, when a player scores zero, it is usually shortened to just [duck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_%28cricket%29). I’l’ take that nitpick- I’m a little more disturbed that Cecil thinks the whole etymology I posted is bogus. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/75 "2012-05-03T14:39:09Z")
“Dolphin” originally applied only to a mammal. It came to also describe a type of fish because of a(nother) nautical corruption of one of the fish’s names “dorado.” LSD is “lysergic acid diethylamide,” but the initials derive from the German name for it _lyserg saure diethylamide_ ---
**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:** [May 3, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/76 "2012-05-03T14:42:02Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > LSD is “lysergic acid diethylamide,” but the initials derive from the German name for it _lyserg saure diethylamide_ “Sour” and “acid”…makes sense. Reminds me of how “oxy-” means “sour” in Greek, and how oxygen in German is just “sour stuff”. And how there’s a common weed with the botanical name of “oxalis” that has a lemony taste to its stems. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/77 "2012-05-03T15:42:08Z")
Pumpernickel means “goblin fart.” > **[What’s the origin of "pumpernickel"?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343113/what-s-the-origin-of-pumpernickel)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD ---
**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:** [May 3, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/78 "2012-05-03T15:54:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Pumpernickel means “goblin fart.” > > [What’s the origin of "pumpernickel"? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1978/whats-the-origin-of-pumpernickel) [Maybe it does, and maybe it doesn’t](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=213486). The response was by a German native. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/79 "2012-05-03T16:13:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Pumpernickel means “goblin fart.” > > [What’s the origin of "pumpernickel"? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1978/whats-the-origin-of-pumpernickel) IIRC, “pumpernickel” was German slang for a Peasant. Pumpernickel bread was semi-black bread, peasant food. It’s not a comment on the bread’s indigestability (I think pumpernickel is pretty edible, myself, but maybe the original product wasn’t so nice as the one I buy in my local supermarket), but on its humble origins, with a classist poke at those origins. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124/80 "2012-05-03T17:34:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > 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! I don’t think so. The German Scheiss is the root; the double s morphed into t in English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-etymology-trivia/620124.md?page=5)