2278: Mandatory Talmud in Korea Mar 12, 2021
The South Korean constitution guarantees that "religion and state shall be separated" but parts of the Talmud, a Jewish religious texts, is part of the national curriculum, even in primary schools. This isn't for any specific religious reason, but that in the latter half of the 20th century it was brought over and translated by rabbis in Japan where in both countries it was seen as a means of modelling Jews' high academic standards. Tae Zang publishing house originally printed its "5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom" in 1974 followed by many others in Korean and China, with many Koreans using black-market talmudic translations.
2275: jovial & Jove Mar 9, 2021
Around the world, many cultures have associated certain times of year with heightened happiness. While likely few would still have any association between the two, the word 'jovial' meant born under the influence of the planet Jupiter, also called 'Jove' in English. Indeed, the Latin '-ālis' ending was used to express relationship, in this case with the head of their pantheon, Iovis. This astrological relation and an idea that those people born in that zodiac period were cheerier people led to the modern definition.
2269: Elves in Given Names Mar 3, 2021
Although elves these days are not so culturally important these days as these used to be in ancient Germanic cultures, there still are remnants, especially in names. Alfred, Alvin Aubrey, Eldridge, and Oliver to name a few all come from the word 'ælf' (elf) with some other compound. In those names before, they are respectively Ælfræd (Elf-counsel), Ælfwine (Elf-friend) Alb(e)rada (elf-counsel), Ælfric (Elf-ruler) and Alfihar, (elf-army). Notably this makes Oliver unrelated to the French Olivier (olive-tree), though the French name did influence the spelling. Elves in Germanic mythology were small and malicious, hence why so many of those names have somewhat tough or even militaristic connotations. Share your friends named after elves.
More on elf-influence in English tomorrow.
2261: Yiddish Masculine for Feminine Hebrew Loanwords Feb 23, 2021
Yiddish, a Germanic language, contains many Hebrew words with Hebrew plural forms, though it does not treat these the same as in actual Hebrew. For instance, the Yiddish form for both שבת (Shabbos) i.e. 'sabbath' and טלית (tallis) '[prayer] shawl' use the masculine plural ending ־ים (-im) even though in Hebrew they both pluralize with the feminine ending ־ות (Modern -ot, or Yiddish -os). In truth, these actually are masculine, and just take usually-feminine endings due to phonological reasons and a little bit of chance. Thus there is the Yiddish שבתים (Shabbossim) but Hebrew שבתות (Shabbatot). Notably perhaps, שבת clearly shows up as masculine in the Bible but only in the singular.
שבת שבתון הוא לכם
"It [masc.] is a sabbath of complete rest for you all".
2195: Positive Names with Negative Etymologies Dec 18, 2020
There are a lot of names out there which sound as if the meanings would be undesirable as a personal name, like 'Delores' (Sorrows). In this case it comes as a moniker for the Virgin Mary, and likewise so do other names like Mercedes (Mercy), Soledad (Loneliness), or Luz (Light), though of course not all of these are so negative. Somewhat ironically then the nicknames 'Lola' and particularly 'Lolita' come from Delores, but these were once seen to have a more erotic connotations, with popular references found in the 19th and 20th century.
On that note, should anyone find a reason 'Delilah' is so popular considering especially that story is fairly commonly known, or any other stigmatized names, please write in to the Suggestions/Questions page:
2193: Why the Spelling for the Maccabees is Controversial Dec 16, 2020
An important source to understanding the story behind the holiday of Chanuka is from The Book of the Maccabees, but exactly how to spell 'Maccabees' in Hebrew is unclear. These days, it is 'מכבים' but irrespective of that it might be surprising there is the ambiguity at all. This is actually because the oldest known records are in Greek, where is it universally Μακκαβαῖοι (Makkabaioi), despite the fact the entire subject matter focuses on fighting the Greeks militarily and culturally. It is unclear whether the name originates, as is most commonly understood, as an acronym written on their flags from מי־כמכה באלם יי (mi chamocha ba'elim [Hashem]) meaning "who is like You among the heavens [G-d]?". The name could also come as a reference to the military strength, with [מקבי[ם meaning 'hammer' in Aramaic. Keep in mind that while this is often taken to be a family name, as with Yehuda Maccabee, their actual dynastic name being חשמונאים ([the] Hasmonaim).
2181: Names for Cardinal Directions Dec 4, 2020
At this point the cardinal directions in English—North, East, South, and West—are basically stripped of their original meanings, but unsurprisingly they are related to the Sun. Most directly so is with 'South' thought to come from the Proto-Germanic *sunthaz, understood to mean literally 'sun-side', which being so far north geographically would mean the Sun is usually seen towards the South. 'North' is uncertain, but it either comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ner- (inner, under) or the *ner- (left, or also 'below) and if the second is true, then it would likely be as a reference to being on the left as the Sun is rising. 'East' and 'West' both come through a different sort of pattern: Roman deities, kind of. While not necessarily directly from these sources, 'east' is related to the Latin 'aura' or Greek αὔρα (auos) meaning 'dawn', and a minor deity. Likewise 'west' is related to the Latin 'vesper', the evening star, and a minor deity.
2139: excruciate and crucifiction Oct 23, 2020
Christianity historically has had a large influence on languages around the world, and many phrases like "one's cross to bear" have entered mainstream lexicon. One example people may not even realize though comes from 'excruciate' which can refer to anything being exceptionally bad or unpleasant. The Latin Latin 'excruciat-' however means 'tormented' and comes from 'crux' meaning 'cross' i.e. as if being crucified. Some have contested the idea that the was so literal and point also to the use of "crux interpretum" or "point of interpretation" such as a decision that is impossible to make, and thus stress-inducing but certainly the connotations will always be strong either way.
2022: genie: Disney vs. Arabian Mythology Jun 28, 2020
People might be familiar with the idea of a genies who live in lamps and grant three wishes, and while that is true in certain Arabian folklore, the sources for that are very mixed. In one sense, this draws from the Latin 'genius' used for French translations of "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments" which is a term for a sort of guardian spirit. Now of course 'genius' shifted along the lines of 'a person who can influence others' and hence 'a powerful/creative person'. Really though, this concept is adapted from the pre-Islamic Arabian demons called 'jinni' (singular) who could take human forms, and were adopted into Islam during the period of expansion.
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1903: Why Cherubs are Mistakenly Painted Like Children Mar 1, 2020
Cherubs are angelic beings, and in art they often depicted as childlike, but in the Bible they are described as having 4 heads, that of an eagle, an ox, a lion, and a man, and 4 wings—one set pointing up, and the other covering the body—each one with hands at the end, and humanoid legs with bronze-looking calf-hooves. Full descriptions can be found in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel, with mentions in many other places throughout the Bible. The difference between the artistic depictions is due entirely to rabbinic folk etymology, mistakenly relating the Hebrew כְּרוּב (keruv) to the Aramaic kĕ-raḇyā meaning 'like a child'. For an alternate term to describe these childlike creatures, it is more accurate to say 'putto', since the iconography actually comes from Greek and Roman mythology.
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1682: Hymen and hymen Jul 23, 2019
The Greek deity of marriage is referred to as Ὑμήν ('hymen') but this is not the express origin the homophone denoting female anatomy. For one thing, the deity was conceptualized as a man, but more importantly the physiological term comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *syu-men- with *syu- meaning 'sew' or 'bring together ('sew' coming from the same root). To be clear, the name of the Greek mythical is estimated to generally come from the same derivation but in the sense of bringing two people together through a wedding itself.
1605: adam's apple May 7, 2019
Adam's apples are more prominent on men than women, so it was deemed fitting to name it after the first man, Adam (אדם). It doesn't look much like an apple, but that's because the biblical imagery doesn't end there. The thyroid cartilage of the larynx is usually referred to as Adam's apple after the idea that a piece of the forbidden fruit, popularly conceived of as an apple was lodged in Adam's throat. For more on why the forbidden fruit is referred to as an apple, see here.
Over the last few days, there have been posts about the larynx, so read all about the larynx here.
1253: The King James Bible Didn't Speak Its Greek May 15, 2018
Those translating The King James Bible (KJV) weren't familiar with Koine Greek: the language it was written in; at the time people didn't know it existed. This may sound impossible: how do people translate from a language which is unknown?
Well, it is not as if the translators for the KJV were only familiar in English (or even ecclesiastical Latin) and translated from no background, but at the time, people believed that Koine (common) Greek, as what they were all familiar with: Classical Greek. In fact, up until more scrolls and other documentation was found, it was thought that the Greek used in the New Testament was unique, and moreover a divinely-inspired dialect. This was proved false in the 17th and 18th century by the existence of thousands of items in Koine Greek, mostly on papyrus. So while the translation is one of the most-trusted, it was beyond the grasp of the translators, and should—more than most translations of other things—be taken with more consideration.
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