Bons mots

6 March 20266 March 2026 By Simon

What connects bons mots with mottos and muttering? Let’s find out.

A bon mot [bɒn məʊ / bɑn moʊ] in English means a clever saying, a phrase or witticism or a witty riposte in dialogue. It comes from French bon mot [bɔ̃ mo], which means the same thing, or literally “good word”. You can also find bon mot in Dutch, Indonesian and other languages [source].

The word mot [mo] in French means a word, note, (short) message or the answer to an enigma. It comes from Middle French mot (word), from Old French mot (word), from Late Latin muttum (a mutter, grunt), from muttīre (to mutter, murmur, talk quietly) from muttiō (to mutter, murmer), which is of onomatopoeic origin and signifies “make a mu-noise” [source].

Other French expressions featuring mot include:

demi-mot = a hint (“half-word”)
fin mot = the real story, the (whole) truth (“final word”)
gros mot = dirty word, swear word (“coarse / rough word”)
grand mot = a strong word, strong term (“big-word”)
demi-mot = a hint (“half-word”)
mot d’esprit = a witticism, bon mot (“word of spirit / wit”)
dernier mot = last word

Other words from the same roots possibly include mot (word) in Catalan, motto and mutter in English, mote (nickname, motto) in Spanish, Motto (motto, slogan) in German and motto (philosophy, motto, watchword, byword) in Polish [source].

By the way, the plural of bon mot in French is bons mots, but in English it can be bon mots or bons mots. What about in other languages?

Pages, Pagans & Peasants

19 February 2026 By Simon

Are the words page, pagan, peasant and pheasant related? Let’s find out.

Page [peɪdʒ], as in ‘one of the many pieces of paper bound together within a book or similar document’ (other meanings are available) comes from Middle French page, from Latin pāgina (a written page, leaf, sheet), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- (to fasten, fix), which is possibly related to the idea of papyrus sheets fastened to each other, or from fastening / imprinting letters [source].

Words from the same Latin root include página (page) in Spanish, página (page, website) in Portuguese, pagina (page) in Italian, page (page, web page, page boy) in French, and pagină (page) in Romanian [source].

Pagan [ˈpeɪɡən] (Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions; savage, immoral, uncivilized, wild.) comes from Middle English pagan, from Latin pāgānus (rural, rustic, unlearned), from pāgus (district, region, countryside, countryfolk) from Proto-Italic *pāgos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- (to fasten, fix) – perhaps related to fixing boundaries [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include paúl (moor, heath) and peño (foundling) in Spanish, pegno (pledge, security, token) in Italian, pau (stick, wood) in Portuguese, pale, impale, pole, peasant, travail and travel in English, and pow (country, land, region) in Cornish [source].

So page, pagan and peasant are related. What about pheasant?

Pheasant [ˈfɛzənt] (A bird of family Phasianidae) comes from Middle English fesa(u)nt (pheasant), from Old French faisan (pheasant), from Latin phāsiānus, (pheasant), from Ancient Greek φασιανός (phasianós – pheasant), from Φᾶσῐς (Phâsĭs), a river in Greece from where, it was supposed, pheasants spread to the west [source].

So pheasant is not related to page, pagan or peasant.

Incidentally, in Old English, one word for pheasant was worhana, which was also written uuorhana or morhana. It comes from the Proto-Germanic words *wurzô (grouse) and *hanō (cock, rooster), and is possibly related to the modern English word moorhen [source].

Burgling Burg(h)ers

31 October 2025 By Simon

Are the words (ham)burger, burgher and burglar related? Let’s find out.

Burger [ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)] is a rebracketing of the word hamburger, which is:

A hot sandwich consisting of a patty of cooked ground beef or a meat substitute, in a sliced bun, usually also containing salad vegetables, condiments, or both.
The patty used in such a sandwich.

Hamburger is an abbreviation of Hamburger sandwich / steak, which comes from Hamburg steak, a patty of ground beef [source].

The idea of the Hamburg steak was brought to America by German immigrants in the 19th century, and is based on similar German dishes such as the Frikadelle, which have existed since the 17th century. It first appeared on menus in restaurants in New York in 1873. By the the 1930s, Hamburg steaks were being served as parts of sandwiches, and became known as (ham)burgers [source].

The name Hamburg comes from Old High German Hamme (bend, angle) and burg (castle, city), from Proto-West-Germanic *burg (fortification, (fortified) city), from Proto-Germanic *burgz (fortification, stronghold, (fortified) city), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (to rise up, to ascend, be elevated, to be up high) [source].

A burgher [ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)] is

A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.
- A member of the medieval mercantile class.
- A citizen of a medieval city.
A prosperous member of the community

It comes from Middle English burgher (a freeman of a borough, a burgess), likely merged with and reinforced by Middle Dutch burgher, from Middle High German burger, from Old High German burgāri (inhabitant of a fortress), from burg (fortress, citadel), from Proto-West-Germanic *burg (fortification, (fortified) city), etc. [source].

A burglar [ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ) / ˈbɝɡlɚ] is

A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.

It comes from Medieval Latin burglātor (a freeman of a borough, a burgess), from burgō (to commit burglary), from Latin Latin burgus (fortified town), probably from Frankish *burg (fortress), from Proto-Germanic *burgz (fortification, stronghold, (fortified) city), etc. It was possibly influence by the Latin word latro (thief) and/or the Old French word burgeor (burglar), which comes from Latin [source].

So, burger and burgher are related, and burglar is probably related to them.

Other words that share the same roots include: barrow, borough, burrow, comfort, force and fort in English, bourgeois in French, Burg (castle) in German, burcht (citadel, castle, borough, burrow) in Dutch, bwrw (to cast, throw, hit, precipiate) and brenin (king, monarch, sovereign) in Welsh, forte (fort(ress), strength, talent, strong, stressed) in Italian, fuerte (strong, loud, hard) in Spanish [source].

Sylvan Forests

23 October 202523 October 2025 By Simon

When is a forest not a forest?

In modern English, the word forest [ˈfɒɹɪst / ˈfɔɹəst] means:

A dense uncultivated tract of trees and undergrowth, larger than woods.
Any dense collection or amount – e.g. a forest of criticism

Historically it referred to ‘defined area of land set aside in England as royal hunting ground or for other privileged use’, and didn’t necessarily contain trees.

It comes from Middle English forest (forest, wood, a preserve for hunting exclusive to royalty), from Old French forest (royal hunting ground, forest), from Early Medieval Latin forestis (a large area reserved for the use of the King or nobility, often a forest and often for hunting or fishing, forest), from Proto-West-Germanic *furhisti (forest), from *furhiþi (forest, woodland) and *hursti (thicket, wood, grove, nest) [source].

*furhiþi (forest) comes from *furhu (fir, pine), from Proto-Germanic *furhō (fir, pine, forest [of fir or pine trees]), from Proto-Indo-European *pérkus (oak), from *perkʷ- (oak) [source].

Words from the same roots include pērkons (thunder) in Latvian, perkūnas (sound of thunder, god of thunder) in Lithuanian, perth (bush, hedge) in Welsh, quercia (oak) in Italian, forêt (forest) in French, vorst (copse, grove, woodland) in Dutch, fjör (vitality, energy, fun, life) in Icelandic, and cork, fir and farm in English [source].

*hursti (thicket, wood, grove, nest) comes from Proto-Germanic *hurstiz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷr̥s-ti-s, from *kʷres- [source].

Words from the same roots include hirst (a barren, unproductive piece of ground, usually a hillock, knoll or ridge) in Scots, horst (an elevated land overgrown with shrub) in Dutch, Horst (the nest of a bird of prey, eyrie, bush, thicket, small forest) in German, and hurst (wood, grove – found mainly in place names such as Sissinghurst) in English [source].

The Irish word crann (tree, mast), the Welsh word pren (timber, wood, tree), and related words in other Celtic languages also come from the same roots, via Proto-Celtic *kʷresnom (tree, wood) [source].

In Middle English, the word wode was used to refer to a living tree, a group of trees, a grove, a copse, a wood, a forest, wood, etc. As a verb, it meant to hunt, to take to the woods, or to hide oneself in the woods, and a wodeward was a forester or forest warden.

Wode comes from Old English wudu / ᚹᚢᛞᚢ (wood, forest, woods, tree), from Proto-Germanic *widuz (wood, tree, forest), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰ-u-s [source].

Words from the same roots include wood in English, viður (trees or brambles, forest, wood, timber) in Icelandic, viita (a thicket of young deciduous trees) in Finnish, gwedhen (tree) in Cornish, gwezenn (tree) in Breton, and fiodh (wood, timber) in Scottish Gaelic [source].

Another forest-related word in English is sylvan, which means pertaining to the forest or woodlands, residing in a forest or wood, wooded, or covered in forest.

Related words include silviculture (forestry – the care and development of forests in order to obtain a product or provide a benefit), silvology (the scientific study of forests), and names such as Syliva, Transylvania (“across the forest”), Spotsylvania and Pennsylvania (“woodland of William Penn”).

It comes from Medieval Latin sylvanus, from Latin silvanus, from silva (forest), from Proto-Indo-European *s(w)el- (beam, board, frame, threshold) [source]. Words from the same roots include selva (forest, wood, mass, multitude) in Italian, selva (jungle, woods, forest) in Portuguese, and silva (bramble, blackberry bush) in Galician [source].

Gluten Glue

8 October 20258 October 2025 By Simon

Did you know that the words glue and gluten are related to each other, and to the word clay?

Glue [ɡluː] is:

A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides, used in solution as an adhesive; or any sticky adhesive substance.
Anything that binds two things or people together.
A viscid secretion on the surface of certain plants.

It comes from Middle English glew [ɡliu̯] (glue, birdlime, tar, resin), from Old French glu (glue, birdlime), from Late Latin glūs, from Latin glūten (glue), from Proto-Italic *gloiten, from Proto-Indo-European *glóh₁ytn̥, from *gleyH- (to smear, to stick, glue, putty) [source].

Gluten [ˈɡluːtən / ˈɡluːtn̩] is:

The major protein in cereal grains, especially wheat; responsible for the elasticity in dough and the structure in baked bread.

It comes from Middle French gluten, from Latin glūten (glue), etc. [source].

Clay [kleɪ] is:

A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.

It comes from Middle English cley, from Old English clǣġ (clay), from Proto-West Germanic *klaij (clay), from Proto-Germanic *klajjaz (clay), from Proto-Indo-European *gloy-(y)ó-s, from *gleyH- (to smear, to stick, glue, putty) [source].

So they all come from the same PIE root. Other words from that root include glynu (to stick, adhere, settle) in Welsh, klína (to smear) in Icelandic, glina (clay, loam) in Polish, liiv (sand) in Estonian, klei (clay) in Dutch [source].

Shearing Scissors

3 October 20253 October 2025 By Simon

Why does the word scissors have a silent c in it, and is it related to the word shears? Let’s find out.

Scissors [ˈsɪzəz / ˈsɪzɚz] are:

A tool used for cutting thin material, consisting of two crossing blades attached at a pivot point in such a way that the blades slide across each other when the handles are closed. [other meanings are available]

It comes from Middle English sisours (scissors, shears, [candle] snuffer), from Old French cusoirs (a cutting tool), from Late Latin cīsōria, from cīsōrium (a cutting tool), from Latin -cīsus or caesus (cut, hewn, felled, stuck, beaten), from *caedō (to cut, hew, fell, strike, beat), from Proto-Italic *kaidō (to cut, hew, fell), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (to cut, hew) [source].

The c was added to scissors during the 16th century due to the influence of the Medieval Latin word scissor (tailor, carver) and the Latin word scindō (to cut, tear, read, separate), which both come from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (to divide, split) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include cement, to excise, incision, precise and chisel in English, qeth (to cut) in Albanian, césped (lawn, grass, turf) in Spanish, précis (specific, explicit, sharp) in French [source].

In Old English, the word for scissors or shears was sċēar [ʃæ͜ɑːr], which comes from Proto-West Germanic *skāri, from Proto-Germanic *skēriz (cutting, cuttable), from *skeraną (to shear), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (to cut off, sever, separate, divide) [source].

Words from the same roots include shear(s), shred, share, scourge, sharp, scrotum, cortex and carnage in English, scheren (to shear) in German, skörd (harvest) in Swedish, ysgar (separation, split, divorce) in Welsh, cena (dinner) in Italian and Spanish, and harr (to weed, prune) in Albanian [source].

So, scissors and shears are not related.

Another word with a silent / unnecessary c is schist [ʃɪst], which refers to any of a variety of coarse-grained crystalline metamorphic rocks with a foliated structure that allows easy division into slabs or slates.

It comes from French schiste [ʃist] (shale, schist), from Latin lapis schistos (“stone that is easy to split”), from Ancient Greek σχῐστός [skʰis.tós] (skhĭstós, cloven, divided, divisible), from σχῐ́ζω [skʰíz.dɔː] (skhĭ́zō, to split, cleave, divide), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (to divide, split) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include schism (a split or separation within a group or organization, typically caused by discord) and schizophrenia in English, scindere (to split up, divide, cleave) in Italian, and scheef (crooked, weird) in Dutch [source].

Nesting Niches

11 September 202512 September 2025 By Simon

What connects the word niche with nests? Let’s find out.

A niche include:

A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament.
A function within an ecological system to which an organism is especially suited.
Any position of opportunity for which one is well-suited, such as a particular market in business.

There are several ways to pronounce it, including [niːʃ], which rhymes with leash, [nɪʃ], which rhymes with fish, and [nɪtʃ], which rhymes with pitch. Which one do you prefer?

It comes from French niche [niʃ] (niche, kennel), from Middle French niche, from Old French niche, from nicher (to make a nest), from Latin *nīdicāre (to nest), from nīdus (nest), Proto-Italic *nizdos (nest), from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (nest), from *ni (down) & *sed- (sit) – literally “where [the bird] sits down” [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include neth (sprout, bud) in Albanian, նստել [nəsˈtel] (to sit, sink, fit, shrink) in Armenian, ligzda (nest) in Latvian, gniazdo (nest, socket) in Polish, नीड़ (nīṛ – nest) in Hindi, nead (nest, bed, lair, home, den) in Irish, and nido (nest, home, nursery school) in Italian [source].

The English word nest comes from the same PIE roots, via Middle English nest (nest), Old English nest (nest), Proto-West Germanic *nest (nest), and Proto-Germanic *nestą (nest, provisions, food and supplies) [source].

The English word nidus (an aggregate of neurons; a nest of insects or small animals) also comes from the same roots, via Latin nīdus (nest), as do nidation (the implantation of the early embryo in the uterus), nidificate (to make or build a nest), nidolody (the study of nests) and nidifugous (that leaves the nest shortly after hatching) [source].

The archaic English words nid(e) (a nest of pheasants) and nye (a brood or flock of pheasants), also share the same roots. They were probably borrowed from Middle French nid (nest), from Latin nīdus (nest) [source].

Inflammability

14 August 202514 August 2025 By Simon

Something that is not divisible is indivisible and something that is not accurate is inaccurate, yet something that is inflammable can be burnt. Why is that? Let’s find out.

The word inflammable [ɪnˈflæməbəl] means:

Capable of burning
Easily set on fire
Easily excited; set off by the slightest excuse; easily enraged or inflamed.

It can also mean the opposite: Incapable of burning; not easily set on fire. It comes from Middle French inflammable, from Medieval Latin īnflammābilis, from Latin īnflammāre (to set on fire), from in- (in, on) & flamma (flame) [source].

A related word, (to) inflame means to set on fire, to kindle, to cause to burn, flame or glow, to put in a state of inflammation, or to produce morbid heat, congestion, or swelling, and something that is inflammable can be inflamed [source].

Other related words include inflammation in English , infiammare (to set fire to, to inflame, stir up or flush sth) in Italian, inflamar (to inflame, catch fire) in Portuguese, and inflamar (to inflame, ignite) in Spanish [source].

The word flammable is a back-formation from inflammable and means capable of burning, easily set of fire, or extremely contentious. The prefix in-/im- is often used like un- and non- to negate the meaning of words, such as unaware and non-abrasive. It doesn’t have this meaning in inflammable, but to avoid confusion, the word flammable was coined [source].

Other words that can be used to indicate that something is not easily set on fire include non-flammable, noninflammable, unflammable, uninflammable, incombustible, non-combustible, not flammable and fireproof [source].

In French and Spanish, something that can be burnt is inflammable, while something that cannot be burnt is ininflammable, and there’s a similar word in Italian: ininfiammabile – a nice pile up of prefixes! [source]

More on inflammable v flammable:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/flammable-or-inflammable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustibility_and_flammability

A Cargo of Cars

7 August 20257 August 2025 By Simon

Is the word cargo related to the word car? Let’s find out.

Cargo [ˈkɑːɡəʊ / ˈkɑɹɡoʊ] refers to freight carried by a ship, aircraft or motor vehicle. It comes from Spanish cargo (charge, burden, position, post), from cargar (to load, carry, charge), from Late Latin carricāre, from carricō (to load), from carrus (wagon, a two-wheeled baggage cart, load, two-wheeled Celtic war chariot), from Gaulish *karros (wagon), from Proto-Celtic *karros (wagon), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (vehicle), from *ḱers- (to run) [source].

A car [kɑː / kɑɹ] is a wheeled vehicle that moves independently, with at least three wheels, powered mechanically, steered by a driver and mostly for personal transportation; or any vehicle designed to run on rails [other meanings are available].

It comes from Middle English carre (cart, wagon), from Anglo-Norman carre (cart), from Latin carra, from carrus (wagon(load), cart(load), load), etc. – so the same roots as cargo [source].

Other words from the same Proto-Celtic roots include car (vehicle, car, sled, dray) in Welsh, karr (car, vehicle) in Breton, carro (wagon, cart, van, lorry, truck) in Italian, char (chariot, carriage, tank, car) in French, carro (cart, car) in Portuguese, kar (cart, car, truck) in Dutch, kärra (cart, wagon) in Swedish, qerre (cart, carriage) in Albanian, and career, carriage, carry, charge, chariot and posssibly carousel in English [source].

Other words from the same Proto-Indo-European roots include courier, course, carry, charge, current, curriculum, cursive, cursor, horse, hurry and possibly rush (to hurry) in English; corriere (messenger, courier) in Italian, and courir (to run, hurry, rush) in French [source].

Stages & Balconies

12 June 2025 By Simon

What links the Italian word palco (stage), with words like balcony, plank and block? Let’s find out.

Palco [ˈpal.ko] means platform, stand, layer, (theatre) box, stage, antler in Italian. Related words include palchetto (shelf, sidebar, upper tier box), palchettista (boxholder – ticket holder for the gallery or an upper tier box [in a theatre]), palcoscenico (stage), sottopalco (understage (area), backstage), and spalcare (to dismantle scaffolding, to prune or lop [trees]) [source].

It comes from Lombardic palk (stand, stage), from Old High German balko (beam), from Proto-West Germanic *balkō (beam, balk), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank), or from PIE *bʰelǵʰ- (to swell) [source].

The English word balcony comes from the same roots, via Italian balcone (balcony, floor-length window), Old Italian balcone (scaffold), Lombardic *balk(o) (beam), Proto-Germanic *balkô (beam, balk), etc [source].

Plank also shares the same roots, but arrived via Middle English plank(e) (plank, counter, tablet, prop), Old French planke (plank, board), Late Latin planca (slat, plank), from Latin palanca (slat, plank, stake), from phalanga (wooden roller, carrying pole), from Ancient Greek φᾰ́λᾰγγᾰ (phắlăngă – phalanx, battle order), from φάλαγξ (phálanx – line of battle, phalanx, main body, trunk, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Block comes to us from Middle English blok (log, stump), from Old French bloc (log, block), from Middle Dutch blok (treetrunk), from Old Dutch *blok (log), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk (block, log), from Proto-Germanic *blukką (block, log, beam), from PIE *bʰelǵ- (beam, plank) [source].

Other words from the same roots include balk, bulk, fulcrum and phalanx in English, balk (beam, solid support) in Dutch, Balken (beam, bar) in German, balcão (counter, balcony) in Portuguese, and folcire (to support, sustain, guide, direct), fulcro (fulcrum, pivot,crux, core, thrust) and falca (gunwhale) in Italian [source].

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Category: Late Latin