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I'm delighted to announce the impending arrival of my third etymology book, Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds, featuring quirky, charming, and humorous word origin stories for lovers of all things lexical. This lovely little blue book, published by Hachette's John Murray Press, will be released in hardcover on Oct. 7 in the… Continue reading
Posted in: Etymologies | Tagged: book-review, books, etymology, language, writing
The word “piebald” usually describes animals (of a variety of species) whose coats have irregular patches of white and other darker colors and patterns such as black or brindle. We have two interesting things happening here word origin-wise: The “bald” element in this word means “white,” a sense we also see in animal names like… Continue reading
Posted in: Etymologies
The following is excerpted and abbreviated from the book Words from Hell: Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology. English is a great language for verbal evisceration, a practice predicated upon a long history of creativity in this arena. Poetry, theater, novels, and, of course, politics have made rich, recurring and visionary use of put-downs,… Continue reading
Posted in: Etymologies | Tagged: blog, etymology, language, politics, writing
The word “electric” zapped its way into English in the 1600s from the Modern Latin electricus, meaning “resembling amber” (Greek ēlektron, “amber”). But what does electricity—and what do electrons, for that matter—have to do with fossilized tree resin? This word came to life thanks to early research into magnetism, as well as the exchange of… Continue reading
Posted in: Etymologies
The word "nostalgia" first described homesickness and likely PTSD symptoms experienced by Swiss soldiers and mercenaries who fought abroad in the 1700s. Nostalgia has a surprisingly tragic origin. In 1688, Swiss medical student Johannes Hofer wrote a dissertation about a condition that was common to Swiss soldiers and mercenaries who were fighting in other parts… Continue reading
Posted in: Etymologies
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Hey there! I'm Jess Zafarris, your guide to the wackiest word origins on the interwebs. Get ready for some serious etymological fun!
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Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds
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