Lmst

#ginkgobiloba commonly known as ginkgo (/ˈɡɪŋkoʊ, ˈɡɪŋkɡoʊ/ GINK-oh, -⁠goh),[5][6] also known as the maidenhair tree,[7] and often misspelled "gingko" (but see #Etymology below) is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is

antifa

https://wordorigins-org.ghost.io/antifa-2/

#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics

Stylized image of a 1940s newspaper newsroom with the words “Wordorigins.org: Words in the News”

Latest from John Kelly...he's in my top three favorite word types!
This post is about Calliope, the muse, the sound, and I love it.
#etymology
https://mashedradish.com/2025/10/15/calliope-word-origin/

hag

https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/hag

#etymology #language #wordorigins

The Hag of the Mill, Arthur Rackham, 1920; drawing of an emaciated woman with a cat on her shoulder and a staff, dressed in rags, leading an emaciated dog and horse

Etymology of the day : Cad "a man who behaves dishonourably, especially towards a woman"
from cadet c. 1610, "younger son or brother;" 1650s, "gentleman entering the military as a profession;"
from French cadet "military student officer," noun use of adjective, "younger" (15c.),
from Gascon capdet "captain, chief, youth of a noble family,"
from Medieval Latin capitellum, "little chief,"

#etymology

Somehow, until today I’d never made the mental connection between the words “scrolling” (on a computer) and “a scroll” (of parchment) 🤯😳
#etymology https://mastodon.social/@superbetsy/115363774024636578

It just struck me that "protege" literally means "one who is protected" in French. How have I not spotted this in the 30-odd years that I've known the verb "proteger"? #etymology

Edit corrected spelling

The Enigmatic Origins of 'The Customer is Always Right' | Snopes.com

https://www.snopes.com/articles/468815/customer-is-always-right-origin/

Despite allegations that the phrase once ended with "in matters of taste," we found no evidence to support the claim.

#TheCustomerIsAlwaysRight #etymology

Near as I can tell, #Minecraft is

*meiniskerdā

in #ProtoCeltic.

#etymology
#linguustics
#gaming
#NERDERY

The #ConnectedAtBirth #etymology of the week is HARVEST/SCARCE #wotd #harvest #scarce #thanksgiving #CanadianThanksgiving #ThanksgivingCanada

Thanksgiving is all about the harvest, but for many people food can be scarce even at this time of year. The word harvest comes, through Old English hærfest “harvest, autumn” and Proto-Germanic *harbitaz, from the Proto-Indo-European root *kerp- which means “to gather, pluck”, and the Latin word from this same root, carpere “to pick, gather”, also through Old French gives us the English word scarce which develops from the sense of being “plucked out” and therefore “rare”. That Latin word is perhaps most famous from the phrase carpe diem, usually translated as “seize the day”, but the metaphor at work there is really a harvesting metaphor, like “harvest your crops when they’re ripe before they go bad”. And this PIE root *kerp- goes even further back to the form *(s)ker- which means “to cut, shear”, eventually giving us many English words, including share from the idea of a division or portion — so sharing gets around scarcity. This root also leads to the Latin word caro/carnis “flesh, meat”, as in the English word carnivore, which might bring to mind your Thanksgiving turkey.

Etymology brain just said: Why do pipe down and shut up mean the same thing?

Let’s see if the hive mind gets back to me before I look it up myself.

#etymology

Mecca

https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/mecca

#etymology #wordorigins #language

The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; nighttime photo of a large black cube surrounded by pilgrims within an open-air mosque; beyond are minarets & city buildings

Etymology fact of the day: Numb & number

These two words are related, but not in the obvious way. Both are derived from a Proto-Indo-European root *nem-, which refers to distributing things, but also to taking and giving.

So numb literally means taken. The modern meaning derives from being 'taken' by cold or shock. This word is closely related to the German word nehmen, meaning 'to take'.

The word number comes from the Latin numerus. This word retains more of the sense of distribution: when you divide a certain amount of things between people, the share that everyone gets is a certain number.

Also related is the Ancient Greek word for retribution, in the sense of getting your fair share of punishment for the wrongs you committed. This word is also the name of the goddess of retribution and vengeance: Nemesis.

#language #etymology

A tmesis is abso-freakin-lutely the coolest feature of the English language you don't know exists

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/tmesis-origins

I just love using "Aardvark" and words related for testing names. It shoots to the top of lists and makes me smile because it's such a lovely word.

Did you know it's Dutch for "ground/earth pig"?

#words #etymology #testdev

Judeo-Christian

https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/judeo-christian

#etymology #wordorigins #language

A symbol of Messianic Judaism; Graphic that combines images of a menorah, a Magan David, and the Christian fish symbol

Definitely working hard this afternoon. Definitely not looking up the etymology of "heiney" because I wanted to make a pun about the Golden Hinde but got distracted wondering where that word came from.

I am very focused like that. A fucking laser. Oh! also:
laser(n.)
1960, acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," on pattern of maser (1955). [...] still earlier it was an Old English and Middle English name for some weed, probably cockle.

#meirl #til #etymology

Medbed: from science fiction to conspiracy theory to the presidential announcements

https://wordorigins-org.ghost.io/medbed/

#etymology #wordorigins #language #uspolitics