Author Topic: The random etymology of the day (Read 235459 times)

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #875 on:** January 21, 2009, 09:00:57 PM »

Because all the parts are joined together, threads of melody and harmony intertwining?

Oh, that's nice.

rivka · « **Reply #876 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:36:45 AM »

Are "lot" -- as in, a piece of land -- and "allot" related? The equivalent words are in Hebrew, and I realized I was assuming they were in English too. But didn't actually know.

Jonathon · « **Reply #877 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:45:40 AM »

Yup. Lot comes straight from Old English, while allot comes by way of Old French, which borrowed it from Germanic. Allot comes from à + loter, meaning "to divide into lots".

rivka · « **Reply #878 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:57:32 AM »

Occasionally my etymological assumptions are actually correct.

(This came up because my youngest typed something yesterday, and I was explaining to her why even though "allot" didn't have a squiggly underline, she had still misspelled it.)

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #879 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:14:23 AM »

Quote

Are "lot" -- as in, a piece of land -- and "allot" related? The equivalent words are in Hebrew, and I realized I was assuming they were in English too. But didn't actually know.

Purim on the mind?

rivka · « **Reply #880 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:15:01 AM »

That too.

Neutros the Radioactive Dragon · « **Reply #881 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:35:27 AM »

Porter · « **Reply #882 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:54:42 AM »

I don't recognize that picture, but I know what handful of films it has to come from.

Neutros the Radioactive Dragon · « **Reply #883 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:57:24 AM »

Waiting for Purim.

Edit:
Or was it Home for Purim?

saxon75 · « **Reply #884 on:** March 04, 2009, 12:05:32 PM »

The film-in-film was Home for Purim. Until it was Home for Thanksgiving.

Neutros the Radioactive Dragon · « **Reply #885 on:** March 04, 2009, 01:23:07 PM »

That was it.

goofy · « **Reply #886 on:** March 05, 2009, 07:58:01 AM »

Quote

Because all the parts are joined together, threads of melody and harmony intertwining?

Oh, that's nice.

Perhaps.

?? meant "sew" but also "string or link together, unite".

? was "Epic composition" but also "rigmarole".

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #887 on:** May 01, 2009, 03:22:18 AM »

What's the etymology of the suffix "-hold"? As in "threshold", "stronghold", and "household" and, um, I can't think of any others. There's probably more, though. Is it related to the hold of a ship?

The Genuine · « **Reply #888 on:** May 01, 2009, 09:00:39 AM »

I would guess that "hold" in that contexts comes from the meaning of fortress, grip/grasp, etc. "Hold" of a ship probably comes from the same meaning. Basically a strongpoint.

Jonathon · « **Reply #889 on:** May 01, 2009, 10:30:35 AM »

The OED says that threshold has an obscure etymology; in Old English it was therscold (the sc was pronounced sh), meaning that the h sound was not originally there. In household it just means "holding", and in stronghold it has more of a sense of "fortified place", but both of those derive from the verb hold.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #890 on:** May 12, 2009, 08:48:37 PM »

I just found out today that "bonfire" has nothing to do with "bon" meaning "good" (from the French and those lovely bonbons), but really means "bone fire", as in a big fire that you cremate folk on. I suspect I've been doing bonfires wrong my whole life, in that case.

We'd sometimes have a bonfire in summer camp, but we never threw any of the kids or counselors on, that I can recall.

The Genuine · « **Reply #891 on:** May 12, 2009, 09:18:46 PM »

That reminds me of how much I like the word "cremains."

Jonathon · « **Reply #892 on:** May 28, 2009, 09:44:48 AM »

I just learned that petty comes from the French petit. I saw a reference to petit larceny and it suddenly hit me. (I looked it up in the OED to confirm.)

rivka · « **Reply #893 on:** May 28, 2009, 03:21:45 PM »

That makes so much sense!

The Genuine · « **Reply #894 on:** July 01, 2009, 01:39:48 PM »

Paint yourself into a corner?

Zugzwang!

Jonathon · « **Reply #895 on:** July 01, 2009, 02:56:58 PM »

What a weird word.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #896 on:** July 01, 2009, 08:49:35 PM »

A weird and wonderful word. It would rule in both Scrabble and Hangman.

rivka · « **Reply #897 on:** July 01, 2009, 09:29:15 PM »

Not, not in Scrabble.

Jonathon · « **Reply #898 on:** July 01, 2009, 09:38:49 PM »

You could play it if you had a blank and if one of those letters was already on the board.

rivka · « **Reply #899 on:** July 01, 2009, 09:48:58 PM »

Good point. I was thinking about there being only one Z.