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Category Archives: etymology

Where Did the Continents Get Their Names?

Where did each of the seven continents get their names? The answer involves the sunrise and sunset, a big bear and a little bear, and three mythological queens.

Posted byAspen MooreSeptember 5, 2022Posted inetymology, Rome and GreeceTags:continents, geography, names1 Comment on Where Did the Continents Get Their Names?

Round Robin

Why is a tournament where each team plays the other in turn called a round robin? The answer involves ribbons, religious refugees, and ringleaders.

Posted byAspen MooreMay 30, 2022Posted inetymology, sportsTags:America, English, etymology, France, round robinLeave a comment on Round Robin

The Language of Love

Why do we have such strange ways of saying we’re in love—whether we’re infatuated, head over heels, or crushing on someone? The answer involves structural metaphors, semantic change, and secret diaries.

Posted byAspen MooreAugust 15, 2021August 21, 2021Posted inetymology, idioms, linguistics, UncategorizedTags:crush, love, metaphorLeave a comment on The Language of Love

The Archetypal Apple

Why are apples seen as the “default” fruit in Western culture? The answer involves Greek myths, Latin spelling mistakes, and English semantic narrowing.

Posted byAspen MooreAugust 4, 2021Posted inart history, etymology, religionTags:Christianity, etymology, JudaismLeave a comment on The Archetypal Apple

Spelling Bee

Why do good spellers compete in a spelling “bee”? The answer involves all the favorite subjects of a spelling bee winner—etymology, philology, and, of course, spelling.

Posted byAspen MooreJuly 20, 2021Posted inetymologyTags:America, etymology, spelling, spelling bee1 Comment on Spelling Bee

Why Are Salads “Salted”?

Why does the word salad sound suspiciously like the word for salted in many languages? And where did salads come from, anyway? The answer takes us from ancient Rome to the high-class hotels of New York to Tijuana, Mexico.

Posted byAspen MooreJune 22, 2021Posted inetymology, foodTags:etymology, food, saladLeave a comment on Why Are Salads “Salted”?

The Garden of Children

Why is the first year of school for children called kindergarten? The answer involves a nature mystic, a case of mistaken identity, and a socialism scare.

Posted byAspen MooreApril 27, 2021Posted inchildhood, etymologyTags:childhood, etymology, kindergarten, schoolLeave a comment on The Garden of Children

I’ll Take a Gander—And a Silly Goose

Where does the phrase “to take a gander” come from? As one of the many delightful goose-related idioms in the English language (see “goose egg” and “silly goose”), the history of “to take a gander” involves male waterfowl and nosy neighbors.

Posted byAspen MooreDecember 30, 2020December 30, 2020Posted inetymologyTags:animals, English, etymology, gooseLeave a comment on I’ll Take a Gander—And a Silly Goose

Groovy

Where did the word groovy come from? The answer takes us back to the early days of electronic sound production, to the Jazz Age, and to the outta sight world of the ’60s.

Posted byAspen MooreNovember 18, 2020Posted inetymologyTags:90s, etymology, groovy, music, wordsLeave a comment on Groovy
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