2996: T in English is S in German Mar 6, 2025
It is very common that Southern and Eastern German dialects (hence Standard German) cognates of Dutch and English words will end in [s] while their counterparts end in [t], such as
(German - Dutch - English:)
Was - Wat - What
Straße/Gaße - Straat - Street/Gate
Das - Dat - That
This is not a new phenomenon in German either. The German state of Hessen is named after a local Germanic people at the time of the Romans, when there were the Chattii and Chatuari. The name was already attested as Hesso in Old High German, and various other related forms [Chassi, Hassi].
This shift did not happen with Northern and Western Germanic dialects like Dutch but also the Kölsch dialect, where the name of the German state was borrowed with the [s] but elsewhere not.
2995: Why No Germanic Saturday? Mr 4, 2025
When it came to naming the days of the week each culture replaced the names of the week with their own deities for the days of the week (each being associated with a planet) that roughly corresponded with its own from the Babylonians to the Greeks, Romans and then Germanic peoples, but Germanic cultures have no equivalent of the Roman Saturn, and hence Saturday remained. This, inherited from Latin, became part of Proto-Germanic and hence in theory all modern Germanic languages, but that also isn’t the case. There isn’t a Germanic pantheonic name for Saturday, but at least three alternates have existed.
Old Norse: laugardagr, literally "washing-day".
Modern German Sonnabend, literally "Sunday Eve".
More Common Modern German word Samstag which comes from ‘Sabbath Day’ from the Hebrew (Shabbat)’. The [m] instead of [b] from Hebrew to European languages is also found in the name James from Yaakov, first in Latin as ‘Iacobus’ to then ‘Iacomus’ before ‘James’. Here too the words was Shabbat, then Sabat, then Sam(a)t.
2994: Convergent Evolution of Arabic Letters (ر) (ز) (ج) (ح) Mar 3, 2025
The evolution of Arabic script is a fascinating process influenced by calligraphic styles, regional adaptations, and aesthetic refinements. In the case of the letters ر (raa) & ز (zayn) and ج (jeem) & ح (ħaa), their similarities can be traced back to early Arabic writing and how the script developed over time. These are far from the only letter pairs with similar forms, but they are among the most similar.
Raa (ر) & Zayin (ز)
Originally, raa (ر) and zayin (ز) were quite distinct, but as Arabic calligraphy evolved, their basic structure became nearly identical, with the only difference being the dot above zayin. In early Kufic script, the angular nature of the letters made them more distinguishable. However, as cursive styles like Naskh and Diwani emerged, both letters adopted a flowing, curved shape. The addition of diacritical dots in later script development was a crucial step in ensuring phonetic clarity, solidifying ز as a separate letter from ر.
Jeem (ج) & Haa (ح)
Similarly, jeem (ج) and ħaa (ح) share the same foundational form, but jeem is marked by a dot below. This similarity is due to the historical development of the Arabic script from Nabataean and early Arabic writing traditions. The rounded, open-loop structure seen in modern Arabic calligraphy was not always present; in earlier inscriptions, the letters were more angular and distinct. However, as smoother, cursive scripts developed, the shapes of ج and ح converged in form, with the diacritical dot distinguishing them.
2993: עכשיו Looks Interesting Mar 2, 2025
The Hebrew word עכשיו (‘achshav), meaning ‘now’, looks strange for a Hebrew word. It does not follow any typical root, usually 3-consonants, yet it still takes what looks like a 3rd person singular possessive ending on a plural noun with ־ָיו (-av), as in
ילד ← ילדים (yeled → yeldim) for ‘child’ → ‘children’
ילדו ← ילדיו (yeldo →yeldav) for ‘his child’ → ‘his children’.
It seems on both accounts are explained by the word עכשיו (achshav)—which was a later creation not used in the Torah—may be derived from עד כשעה (ad ksha'a) “until at this time” or עד כשהוא (ad kshehu) literally “until when it is”, with usage dating back to Late Antiquity. The spelling with י before the ו likely developed to clarify it has consonantal pronunciation as opposed to being like a vowel [see em kra/mater lectionis] similar to words like סתיו (stav) ‘autumn’ and indeed the possessive ending יו (-av).
2992: Changes in Chair Style Naming Mar 1, 2025
There are lots of chair styles of the 18th century; in fact, it was a time of explosive growth in the variety of furniture styles being produced. This includes Queen Anne Chair (c. 1702–1714), King George Chair (Georgian Era, c. 1714–1830), and Louis XIV, XV, and XVI Chairs, and arguably Federal style from the US, each named after the monarch of the time. However, it was around this time in the latter half of the 18th century that other styles like the Hepplewhite and Sheraton were instead being named after the furniture designer. The first of these was Chippendale, after Thomas Chippendale. Now it is extremely common for furniture and other design styles to be named after individuals.
Of course, there were always styles named after no one,even before this period, such as in the 16th and 17th centuries with Rococo, Baroque, Wainscot, Farthingale etc., all of which happen not to be native to English, but most have anglicized spellings.
2991: Why 'Whole' & 'Who' Have a Double-U Feb 28, 2025
The words ‘whole’, ‘who’, and ‘how’ each have a notable relationship with <W>. ‘Whole’ derives from the Old English hāl, but later, under the influence of its Middle English spelling 'hole' (which led to confusion with ‘hole’), an initial ‘wh-’ was introduced to align it with related words, apparently like 'whale', 'while', & so on. ‘Who’, from the Old English hwā, preserves the ‘wh-’ digraph as a representation of the original pronunciation with [ʍ], due to wh- reduction after an shift from the vowel/ɑː/ to /oː/ in Middle English.
Similarly, ‘how’ comes from the Old English hū, which, like ‘who’, originally had an audible [ʍ], but over time, the pronunciation evolved while the spelling continued to reflect older phonetic patterns. These inconsistencies illustrate the historical shifts in English orthography, where the ‘wh-’ cluster often preserves archaic pronunciation features or is influenced by analogy rather than phonetic accuracy.
2990: Smashing Folk Etymology Feb 27, 2025
Although it may be perceived as British slang now, at least relatively speaking nowadays, ‘smashing’ to mean ‘great’ originated in the United States…or did it. A handful of similar terms like ‘hit’ also have emerged, but a popular folk etymology connects the English ‘smashing’ to the Irish “is maith sin” (“that is good”). No dictionary holds this to be true, especially given the origin as ‘a smash’ along with ‘smashing’.
Indeed, like ‘a smash’ and ‘a hit’ there are numerous cases of synonyms with apparent convergent etymology in slang, such as:
•Shredded, ripped, (i.e. muscular) but not, say ‘torn’
•Chill, cool but not cold
•Sick, illin’ but not diseased / unwell
Write back with any more convergently evolved slang you can find.
2989: Starting the Week with the Sun Feb 26, 2025
The Ancient Babylonians were very advanced in mathematics, astrology and so on, and it is this week that was adopted by other peoples like the Greeks, Romans, and later Germanic peoples, replacing the Latin 8-day week etc.. They named the days of the week after the 7 luminaries (celestial bodies) known to them, and in particular they named them after those which appeared largest to smallest to the naked eye: the Sun (of Sunday fame), the Moon (on Monday), Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter. In most Romance languages, the word for Sunday comes from the Late Latin diēs Dominicus (literally “day of the Lord”), like Spanish, Sunday is instead domingo, or French ‘dimanche’.
2988: Cloister, not Cluster Feb 25, 2025
The words ‘close’, ‘cloister’, and ‘claustrophobia’ all originate from the Latin claudere, meaning ‘to shut’ or ‘to close’. ‘Close’, and by extension ‘closet’ evolved through Old French clore, retaining its broad sense of shutting or bringing things together, while ‘cloister’ developed from Latin claustrum, referring to an enclosed monastic space. ‘Claustrophobia’, a much later formation from the 19th century, combines the Latin claustrum with the Greek phobos (‘fear’), denoting a dread of confined spaces. Despite their shared ancestry, these words have diverged significantly in meaning. Interestingly, words like ‘cluster’ and ‘clot’ appear related due to their associations with tight formations, yet they stem from entirely different Germanic roots. What is included is any word anything ‘-clude’ like include, preclude, exclude, seclude etc..
2987: Myths of Atlas, Atlantis and the Atlantic Ocean Feb 24, 2025
Unlike the name of the other oceans, the Atlantic Ocean is a very old name, coming from the early 6th century BC. The Atlantic Ocean is named for the Titan deity Atlas, who was supposedly forced to hold up the sky at the westernmost point of the world. This name is applied to the Atlas Mountains on the coast of Northwest Africa, though it is not clear if the mountains got the name from the ocean or the other way around. At the time, the line between not only contemporary history and mythology was blurred, as is the line between their contemporary history and history that was already ancient by the time of Ancient Greece, so it is not entirely clear whether the myth was developed to explain the name, or if the places were named actually as result of the myth. It is not clear where this word comes from, but the dominant theory is that it is from the Greek prefix ἁ- (‘being’) plus the descendant of the root *telh₂- meaning ‘bear; endure’, though it may not be of Greek origin.
The original term was Atlantic Mountains, though the shorter name won out over time, and is used for most other regional terms like Atlas bears. The ocean, by contrast, was originally referred to as the Sea of Atlantis though this lost favor due to the associations with the mythical lost city of Atlantis.
2986: Pilates Didn’t Call it Pilates Feb 23, 2025
It is pretty common for an innovation to be named after the innovator, but less commonly is it done against his wishes. The term ‘Pilates’ takes its name from the inventor of both the methodology and aparati, Joseph Pilates. It is stylized with a capital letter even though most other eponyms (words based on people’s names) aren’t. In his published works however, he coined the term ‘contrology’, not using ‘Pilates’, as in his book outlining the system “Return to Life through Contrology”. Though this has caught on for some more niche purposes, this is certainly not the dominant one.
2985: Iron and Sanguine: Etymologically Related Feb 22, 2025
‘Iron’ is not related to ‘blood’, nor is ‘ferro’ (iron) and ‘sangue’ (blood) in Italian related, but ‘iron’ and ‘sangue’ are, surprisingly at first glance, related etymologically. ‘Sangue’ from the Latin ‘sanguis’, traces back to Proto-Indo-European (PIE) h₁ésh₂r̥, meaning ‘blood’ or ‘red’, due to the reddish hue of oxidized iron. The specified oxidization is not merely pedantic, but it appears that PIE had two words for the different states of blood: * h₁ésh₂r̥, and *krewh₂. Anyway, this distinction is apparent in Romance languages’ words for blood like ‘sangue’ as mentioned, but also words for ‘iron’ in Germanic and Celtic languages. The appearance of the <R> instead of the <S> is only from a later change of rhoticization of [s] that occurred before English even existed; compare this with the German cognate ‘Eisen’ which retains the [s] with (Germanic) Danish ‘jern’ and the (Celtic) Welsh ‘haearn’ and Irish ‘iarann’ and indeed the Armenian արյուն (aryun).
2984: The African Union (Mostly) Doesn’t Use African Languages Feb 21, 2025
The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, roughly corresponding to those spoken by the constituent countries, though of course not including minority languages like say, Basque. With arguably about 10 times the number of languages spoken in Africa as compared to Europe, the African Union (AU) only recognizes six official languages—Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and kiSwahili—with Swahili being the only native African language. The AU’s language policy also includes the phrase “and any other African language,” which provides flexibility for incorporating indigenous languages in official communication, translation, and regional governance but nothing has to be conducted in those languages. Technically, this means that while the six core languages dominate formal AU operations, other African languages can be used as needed but for any official purposes as pertains to the AU will need to be translated into those other, mostly non-African languages. Ultimately, this is a pragmatic matter to provide the most linguistic coverage in Africa.
2983: Ham-Fisted - Ham Legged? Feb 20, 2025
The adjective, ham-fisted, is fairly self-explanatory regarding clumsiness or a lack of delicacy, attested first around the turn of the 20th century (earlier if one includes ‘ham-handed’). However, the analogy to hams has not only been used for hands, as in the the Middle English phrase attested as hammen ifalden "with folded hams" meaning ‘kneeling’, and in Old English, ‘ham’ not only referred to the meat of a pig’s hind, but of the back of a person’s legs as well, which now does not have any commonly used word for it. Technically ‘ham’ is still a Modern English word with this sense, but the main way it has survived is as the source of ‘hamstring’.
2982: London’s “River River” Feb 19, 2025
London was established by the Romans, but the river on which it was founded along, the Thames, is a Celtic name. It might not have been the name of the river, per se, but from a Celtic root simply meaning Proto-Celtic tamesās, meaning ‘river’ or simply ‘waters’, but also ‘darkness’. This connection between water and darkness is also evident in other Celtic words, such as dubros ("water, dark"), from the Proto-Indo-European dʰubrós. The name's association with "darkness" suggests a broader symbolic link to water’s murky, ever-moving qualities, as opposed to in Romance and Germanic languages where the words are distantly related to older meanings of “flow; undulate”. This etymological pattern is seen in other river names across Europe, like the Taff, Tamar, and Tiber. The clear majority of European river names, irrespective of modern linguistic communities, come from Celtic names, from a time when the Celts dominated the continent.
2981: -ia to -ien: Why German Adds “-N” in place names Feb 18, 2025
Many English place names, especially countries, end in -ia, from Latin. The German -ien (Bulgaria→Bulgarien) suffix also does, but the exact form results from a historical convergence of Latin and Germanic morphological patterns. Many German place names, such as the states of Hessen, Sachsen (Saxony), and Franken (Franconia), Bremen, Thüringen (Thuringia), Westfalen (Westphalia) with only -en originate from dative plural forms of tribal names, a common pattern in Old High German, e.g “bei den (Franken)” i.e. “[the area] by the Franks”. These names followed a structure where the dative plural, often used to indicate the land of a people, became fossilized as the standard form, now acting as a nominative (subject).
This pattern was later reinforced by the Latin -ia suffix, which entered Middle High German as -ie or -je. By analogy with older German place names already ending in -en, such as Böhmen (Bohemia) and Schwaben (Swabia), the -ien suffix became an established marker for territories after the strong feminine distinctions in Middle High German collapsed leading these to inflected forms in -ien.
There are a handful of exceptions, like Slowakei (Slovakia) and Mongolei (Mongolia), and Belgium is Belgien also, but this linguistic evolution explains why many modern country names in German -ien suffix gets the final <N>, such as Italien (Italy), Spanien (Spain), and Kroatien (Croatia). The process reflects a blend of native Germanic dative plural formations and the later adaptation of Latin-based suffixation, shaping the German system for naming regions and foreign nations, but largely not in place names in German speaking places.
2980: Punctuation: Not Originally Grammatical Feb 17, 2025
Punctuation used to just be called ‘pointing’, though that is ultimately what ‘punctuation’ still means, from the Latin ‘pungare’ (point; punch). Early punctuation, when there was any to speak of, served largely different roles as it does today. The term ‘punctuation’ did not at first replace ‘pointing’ rather they existed at the same time with the latter basically meaning the symbols people use in their normal writing, and ‘punctuation’ was reserved for nikudot, or the dots and dashes in Hebrew used both to represent otherwise unnoted vowels, but more importantly here they represent stresses, pauses, and types of cantillation. Punctio psalmorum or literally ‘pointing of the psalms’ was the original sense of the term in knowing how to recite them both in Hebrew technically but most often in Latin chants. Indeed the use of the word ‘punctuation’ for purely grammatical purposes only developed in the early modern period [as opposed to the early modern comma] especially bolstered by the printing press.
2979: Contact Lentils Feb 16, 2025
Though definitely not anomalous, it is fairly rare for a native English noun to end with a singular letter <S>, as happens with the word ‘lens’. This is, in part, because the word is fairly new, and only invented in the late 17th century in reference to glass lenses of eyeglasses and microscopes etc.. The word comes from the Latin for ‘lentil’, in reference to a round shape with a slight convex in the center. This is seen in other languages as well as a semantic borrowing such as the Hebrew עדשות מגע (adashot mega) or similarly in Arabic, with עדשה (adasha) meaning ‘lentil’.
The difference in forms ‘lens/lentil’ is from the Latin nominative form ‘lens’ and the genitive form ‘lentis’.
2978: Different Terms for Male-Female Animals: Why? Feb 15, 2025
There are cows and bulls, pigs and sows, and even in some cases a hypernym such as where ‘horse’ is neutral and further specified by ‘mare’ and ‘stallion’ all of completely different etymologies, so too with sheep, ram and ewe. The phenomenon of gender-specific animal terminology is prevalent across many languages, but not with most animals, rather most often with domesticated ones.
In Portuguese, for example, the terms ‘cavalo’ (male horse) and ‘égua’ (female horse) have distinct etymological origins, the former having denoted a workhorse. Beyond Portuguese and English, languages like Arabic demonstrate analogous patterns, as seen in Arabic jamal (جمل) [male camel] and naqa (ناقة) [female camel] from a root meaning ‘to suck’ (i.e. here probably ‘nurse’). There is no equivalent in English with regard to having unrelated terms for camels in particular because they have never been common enough to allow for it.
The persistence of these distinctions arises as pragmatic necessity in agrarian and pastoral societies where these distinctions bore more significance. Now, ‘mare’ and ‘stallion’, and for that matter ‘hen’ and ‘rooster’ are less commonly used relative to ‘horse’ and ‘chicken’ respectively. The fact that these terms come from completely unrelated etymologies, as opposed to having gender markers as many languages—including Portuguese and Arabic —use, is reflective more of the way that these terms tend to reflect roles as opposed to simply gender. For instance in Hebrew the cognate gamal (גמל) feminized as gamla (גמלה)—though now uses the Arabic borrowing naka (נאקה). Aside from this, there is no reason per se, except for clarity in farming etc..
2977: Equus vs Caballus Feb 14, 2025
The Latin word for ‘horse’ is equus. Across modern Romance languages, words for ‘horse’ are very similar to each other with a totally different root, such as Italian cavallo, French cheval, Spanish caballo, and Romanian cal. Only slightly exceptional is Portuguese, which uses cavalo for the masculine but égua for the feminine, a term more directly descended from equus. English has words from both roots, like cavalry and equestrian, but none are native, neither to Germanic English nor indeed to Latin, possibly from a gallic word.
The replacement of equus by caballus can be attributed to sociolinguistic factors. Equus was the formal term in Classical Latin, closely associated with the elite, military, and ceremonial contexts. Conversely, caballus emerged as a colloquial term in Late Latin, originally referring to workhorses or packhorses. The fact that ‘cavalry’ has an explicitly militaristic context is incidental, and in Latin the term was ‘equites’. Its practicality in everyday life led to its widespread adoption in Vulgar Latin, eventually becoming the dominant term as Latin evolved into the Romance languages.
The two terms in portuguese will be further explored tomorrow.