Author Topic: The random etymology of the day (Read 238038 times)

The Genuine · « **Reply #1300 on:** October 19, 2010, 11:16:27 AM »

I monger myself.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #1301 on:** October 19, 2010, 02:39:55 PM »

Quote from: Kate Boots on October 19, 2010, 11:14:45 AM

Fear and hate are mongered. So are whores.

I ran into a cheese monger at a grocery store. His selection of cheeses was well mongered and yet he was very eager to part with any of them for the right price.

Kate Boots · « **Reply #1302 on:** October 19, 2010, 02:48:55 PM »

Right! I forgot about cheese.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #1303 on:** October 19, 2010, 08:30:56 PM »

Another thing that can stink!

Anyone here know the connection between the stink and the mongering?

Brinestone · « **Reply #1304 on:** October 20, 2010, 06:50:56 AM »

Yeah. I'm thinking "monger" is a person who deals in unpleasant things. Nobody would be ashamed for selling apples, but at the end of the day, someone who sells fish isn't going to be too desirable to be around.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #1305 on:** October 20, 2010, 07:05:32 AM »

Well, Molly Malone was reputedly sweet, even though she was a fishmonger. And dead.

rivka · « **Reply #1306 on:** October 27, 2010, 12:25:06 PM »

Are symbol and symbiosis related?

What about symposium?

Jonathon · « **Reply #1307 on:** October 27, 2010, 12:44:49 PM »

They all have a form of the prefix syn- (which also appears as sym-, syl-, sys-, and sy-), but the rest is unrelated.

Bol comes from a Greek root meaning 'throw' and is found in words like parabola and ballistic. Biosis is from the Greek bio 'life', and posium comes from the Greek poton 'drink', which means it's related to potable. A sympotes was a fellow drinker, and a symposium was originally a drinking party (where there was often intellectual entertainment). It then came to mean an intellectual meeting or conference.

Porter · « **Reply #1308 on:** October 27, 2010, 01:13:44 PM »

Quote

They all have a form of the prefix syn- (which also appears as sym-, syl-, sys-, and sy-)

Which comes from _____, means _____, and is related to ______?

Jonathon · « **Reply #1309 on:** October 27, 2010, 01:19:37 PM »

Ah, right. I knew I forgot something. It's Greek and means 'together' or 'with', and apparently its further etymology is unknown.

rivka · « **Reply #1310 on:** October 27, 2010, 02:47:46 PM »

Thanks.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #1311 on:** October 27, 2010, 04:01:54 PM »

Quote

Bol comes from a Greek root meaning 'throw'

Which is also where we get the word baseball.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1312 on:** October 28, 2010, 01:31:54 PM »

I just learned that the verb plummet comes from a noun plummet meaning 'plumb line' or 'sounding line'. The verb originally meant 'to measure depth with a plummet' and then developed the sense of 'to drop rapidly'. Another related word is aplomb, which comes from the French à plomb, 'according to the plumb/plummet'. In French it originally meant 'perpendicularity' and then came to mean 'steadfastness', 'assurance', and 'self-possession', at which point it was borrowed into English.

Plumb, of course, comes from the Latin plumbum 'lead'.

Porter · « **Reply #1313 on:** October 28, 2010, 01:39:47 PM »

The mneumonic I always used was

lead -> lead pipe -> pipes -> plumber -> Plumber -> atomic symbol Pb.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1314 on:** October 28, 2010, 01:52:28 PM »

This one's fun too: the adjective/adverb plumb 'straight, perpendicular' also came to be used as an intensifier in American English, as in "She's plumb crazy!"

Porter · « **Reply #1315 on:** October 28, 2010, 01:57:45 PM »

Right on.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #1316 on:** October 28, 2010, 08:53:25 PM »

I never realized that the "plumb" in "plumb crazy" had a "b" on the end. I'm relieved that the "b" is silent, so that everyone won't know how ignorant I've been.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1317 on:** October 28, 2010, 09:20:01 PM »

I don't think I knew either. I don't know if I've ever used that word that way.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #1318 on:** October 28, 2010, 09:57:42 PM »

I don't use it commonly, just on the rare occasion when I'm affecting a pseudo-folksiness.

rivka · « **Reply #1319 on:** October 28, 2010, 10:23:46 PM »

I'd actually say "plumb loco", but I do say it. And I knew how to spell it, from some book or other.

sweet clementine · « **Reply #1320 on:** November 09, 2010, 11:57:04 AM »

You know what's annoying? I finally came up with a couple etymologies I wanted Jonathon to look up for me and now I can't remember them! Blast!

sweet clementine · « **Reply #1321 on:** November 09, 2010, 01:52:24 PM »

AHA! My roommates reminded me. Do "irony" and "iron" come from the same root?

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #1322 on:** November 09, 2010, 01:59:35 PM »

Nope. The first is from the Greek eironeia, and the second is from the Old English isærn.

Adult and adultery don't come from the same root, either.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1323 on:** November 09, 2010, 02:09:27 PM »

Tante is right. The ultimate etymologies of both words are a little unclear, but they are unrelated.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #1324 on:** November 09, 2010, 03:23:31 PM »

What about infants and infantry?