Novice comes from the Latin novus meaning ‘new’. Today it is regularly used in a secular context, but it originally referred to the necessity of the novice undertaking a novitiate – a period of intense spiritual introspection and scriptural study prior to taking monastic vows.
Apprentice comes from the Latin apprehendere ‘to take hold of, to grasp’, [more…]
Many exclamations we recognise are attempts to avoid blasphemy. Jeez! comes from ‘Jesus’, as does Gee whiz!, Jeepers! and Jiminy Christmas!, while Golly!, Gosh! and Gordon Bennett! are from ‘God’. Cripes!, Crikey! and Crumbs! are attempts to tone down saying ‘Christ’. The Cockney exclamation Gor blimey! comes from ‘God blind me!’ and Strewth! is [more…]
The word cutlery comes from the Old French word coutellerie (related to today’s French word couteau ‘knife’) yet the words knife, fork and spoon are all from Old English.
The knife was by far the earliest of the cutlery items, with the word knife coming from the Old English cnif. The first knives would have [more…]
Many of our food terms comes from the French, such as menu, short for menu de repas ‘list of what is served at a meal’. The term a la carte means ‘food ordered as separate items’ as opposed to a table d’hôte, ‘meal served at a fixed price’. Haute cuisine is high-quality cooking in [more…]
Humans seem to have been intrigued by creating enormous buildings and architectural wonders for centuries. The Great Pyramid of Giza, originally 146.5 metres high, was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, destroyed in 1323, was over 120m tall. Churches and cathedrals, with their tall steeples striving [more…]
There are different types of nicknames, sometimes depending on how a nickname will be used. Hypocoristic refers to a nickname of love and affection, which comes from the Greek hypokorizesthai, meaning ‘to call by endearing names’. Love, pet, babe, darling, dear, all spring immediately to mind.
A moniker also means a nickname or personal name and may [more…]
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that etymology and entomology look alike. Cockroach comes from the Spanish cucaracha and describes the unpopular nocturnal insect and a worthless or despicable person, although perhaps it should mean a born survivor, who lives through any circumstance.
Beetle comes from old English bitula ‘to bite’ and to beetle off is to [more…]
To face the music is to brave the unpleasant consequences of your actions. There are several theories about the origin of this phrase. A common assertion is that ‘face the music’ originated from the tradition of disgraced officers being drummed out of their regiment. A second popular theory is that it may derive from [more…]
