2890: Crabs and Circuses: A Vast Web of Words Nov 19, 2024

Follow the path of some etymological mysteries and a wider picture begins to emerge. Cancer likelihood is increased by carcinogens, named after ‘carcinoma’. Both of these words come from the same source, even though they do not look particularly related. All of those cancer-related words come from the Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos) though in the case of ‘cancer’ this was from a Latin calque of the Greek, meaning ‘crab’. This is from the veiny appearance apparently looking like a crab, also seen in the word ‘canker’ and indeed crab. A full explanation of the sound changes and relation to the zodiac can be found here.

The fact that so many words descend from the shape of crabs is interesting, but the story does not end there. Looking even further, ‘curve’, ‘curb’, and words related to ‘circle’, like ‘circus’ and ‘circuit’ etc., and perhaps more surprisingly ‘shrink’ also are all related to those above. This is from an even older root, meaning ‘to turn’ or ‘to bends’.