20th Jun 2008
Etymology Roundup
Maverick - “Etymology: Samuel A. Maverick died 1870 American pioneer who did not brand his calves.”
Barrow/borrow pits and the Mormon R - “Mormon settlers who came West from Missouri brought with them a dialect that pronounced the letter ‘o’ as ‘a’ if the letter were followed by an ‘r’…”
Linguists call the phenomenon ‘the Mormon R,’ and it used to be commonplace in rural areas of Utah and in eastern Idaho ..
So Fort Hall was pronounced Fart Hall … Orange was arange … And borrow became barrow…”
Israel: “Over the past three thousand years, the name ‘Israel’ has meant in common and religious usage both the Land of Israel and the entire Jewish nation. The name originated from a verse in the Bible (Genesis, 32:2 where Jacob is renamed Israel after successfully wrestling with an angel of God. Commentators differ on the meaning of the name. Some say the name comes from the verb śarar (’to rule, be strong, have authority over’), thereby making the name mean ‘God rules’ or ‘God judges’. Other possible meanings include ‘the prince of God’ (from the King James Version) or ‘El fights/struggles’.”
Immaculate: “The crowding of the cone cells at the back of the eye where the image forms has a consequence that when the eye doctor looks into your eye, the part where the cone cells are most dense looks a little more yellow.
About 150 years ago, or maybe a little longer, physicians gave this yellow spot a name.
They called it yellow spot;
But in the Latin they liked to use that came out as macula lutea.”
Budget: “A bougette was typically used for carrying coins around, so the term became linked with the money which you had available at any one time, hence ‘budget’.”
Hamartia: “Hamartia is an element of greek drama which stands for ‘missing the mark.’ In modern lit, hamartia refers to a character’s “fatal flaw” though some say this is an incorrect use of the term as intended by the Greeks.”
Huh, I wonder what the distinction is between hubris and hamartia if both refer to a fatal flaw? And since we’re on the topic, I should let everyone know that my fatal flaw features a javascript rotater that flips every 18 hours. Right now, it’s an inability to refuse french press drip. The denouement activity is happening frequently. 17 long, poetic hours to go…