Dressed to Pieces

9 May 20269 May 2026 By Simon

The word ワンピース (wanpīsu) came up in my Japanese lessons the other day. You could translate it as ‘one-piece’, and it refers to an article of clothing, but which one?

ワンピース (wanpīsu) [wàńpíꜜìsù] actually refers to a dress or other piece of clothing that comes in one piece, such as a bathing costume / swimsuit, and can be shortened to ワンピ(wanpi). It was borrowed from the English term one-piece, which is an adjective meaning ‘composed of a single integral unit, or so appearing’, e.g. a one-piece metal hammer, or a one-piece article of clothing, especially a swimsuit [source].

ワンピース (wanpīsu) or One Piece is also a manga series, an anime TV series and media franchise. Here’s some music from one of the One Piece spin offs, One Piece film RED, sung by Ado:

A similar word is ツーピース (tsūpīsu) [tsɨːpʲiːsɨ], which means a two-piece suit, particular women’s suits. It comes from English two-piece, which refers to a suit or dress in two pieces [source].

Similar words are also found in Korean: 원피스 (wonpiseu) [wʌ̹npʰi(ː)sʰɯ] = dress, and 투피스 (tupiseu) [ˈtʰu(ː)pʰi(ː)sʰɯ] = two-piece suit / dress [source].

Another word for dress in Japanese is ドレス (doresu), which was borrowed from English dress [source].

Incidentally, the English word dress comes from Middle English dressen (to arrange, put in order, to direct or aim), from Anglo-Norman / Old French drecier (to stand up, get to one’s feet), from Late Latin *dīrēctiāre (to guide, direct, put in order), from Classical Latin dīrēctus (laid straight, direct, straight), from Proto-Italic *dwizrektos, from dīrigō (lay straight, direct, distribute) [source].

Words from the same roots include address, adriot (deft, dexterous, skillful) and direct in English, dresser (to raise, build, lift, prepare) in French, addirizzare (to straighten, correct, direct, guide) in Italian, díreach (straight, direct, exact) in Irish, and derecho (straight, upright, right, correct) in Spanish [source].

Sadly Satisfying Assets

1 May 2026 By Simon

What connects the word asset to the words satisfy and sad?

An asset [ˈæsɛt] is

A thing or quality that has value, especially one that generates cash flows.
Any component, model, process or framework of value that can be leveraged or reused.

It comes from assets, from Anglo-Norman as(s)etz (enough), from Old French as(s)ez (enough, sufficiently), from Early Medieval Latin ad satis (copiously), from ad (to) and satis (enough) [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include assai (very) in Italian and assez (enough, quite, rather) in French [source].

The English word (to) satisfy also comes from the same Latin roots, via Middle English satisfyen, Old French satisfier (to satisfy, to pay) and Latin satisfacere (to satisfy, content, secure, pay off), which comes from satis (enough) and faciō (to make, construct). [source].

The Latin word satis (adequate, enough, plenty, satisfactory, sufficient) comes from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂tis (satiation, satisfaction), from *seh₂- (to satiate, to satisfy) [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include sásaigh (to satisfy, to please) in Irish, zat (fed up, have had enough, drunk, sated, full) in Dutch, satt (not hungry, satiated, full, done, fed up, sick of) in German, and (to) satiate (to fill to satisfaction, to satisfy) and satiety in English [source].

The English word sad used to mean sated, satisfied, weary, steadfast, valiant, dignified, serious, grave, naughty, troublesome, wicked, unfashionable, etc. In Middle English it meant sated, weary, firm, solid, heard, considered, thoughtful, serious, etc. From the 14th century it was used to mean inspiring or having sorrow.

It comes from Old English sǣd (full, sated, weary), from Proto-West Germanic *sad (sated, full), from Proto-Germanic *sadaz (sated, satisfied), from PIE *seh₂- (to satiate, to satisfy) – the same root as asset and satisfy [source].

Mouchard

20 March 202620 March 2026 By Simon

One of the words that came up last night in the French conversation group was mouchard, which means an informant and various other things. I thought I’d look into it in more detail here.

Mouchard [mu.ʃaʁ] can mean:

a snitch, grass or tell-tale (police informant) – also known as indic, cafteur or cafard in French
a bug (hidden microphone)
a spyhole or peephole
a tachograph (device that records the distance and time traveled by a vehicle)
(a piece of) spyware
a spyplane
a black box, flight recorder

It comes from mouche (a fly, bullseye, historically: a spy employed by the ancien régime to seek out subversive ideas) and -ard (pejorative suffix), from Middle French mousche (a fly), from Old French m(o)usche (a fly) [source], from Latin musca (a fly, an inquisitive or prying person) , from Proto-Indo-European *mu(s)/*mews- (fly). Words from the same roots include midge in English and Mücke (midge, gnat, crane fly, mosquito) in German [source].

Related words include:

mouchardage = informing, grassing, ratting
moucharder = to rat (on), to tell tales

The French word mouchard has also been borrowed into English, and means an undercover investigator or a police spy, especially in a French-speaking country, or an inverted compass hanging above the captain’s bed. The activity of such people is known mouchardism [source].

Other fly-related expressions in French include:

faire mouche = to hit the bullseye, to come off, to hit home, to hit the nail on the head
mouche de coche = back-seat driver (person who pretends to be useful by offering unsolicited advice or by running around without actually doing any work)
pattes de mouche = scrawl, chicken scratch (illegible handwriting)
prendre la mouche = to get offended, to get in a huff, to fly off the handle [source]

Are there interesting equivalents of mouchard in other languages?

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].

A Complete Canard!

21 November 2025 By Simon

One of the words that came up in the French conversation group last night was canard, which means duck in French, but is also used in English.

In French, meanings of canard [ka.naʁ] include:

A duck, duckling, drake (male duck)
A canard, hoax, fake news, a lie
A newspaper (of little value), a rag (slang)
A lump of sugar dipped in a liquid, especially coffee or brandy, before being eaten.
A high-pitched, false note produced by a wind instrument, most often a reed instrument [source].

It comes from Middle French canard (duck), from Old French canart, quanart (duck), from cane (female duck, boat), perhaps from caner (to cackle, prattle), or from Frankish *kanō (boat, floating vessel), from Proto-Germanic *kanô (vessel, vat, tub, boat), from Proto-Indo-European *gan(dʰ)- (vessel, tub) [source].

Some expressions featuring canards include:

canard boîteux = lame duck
vilain petit canard = ugly duckling
ne pas casser trois pattes à un canard = not worth writing home about, not all it’s cracked up to be – to be very ordinary, to be on the verge of mediocrity
faire le canard = to suck up to; to flatter too much
froid de canard = bitter cold, brass monkeys weather
il y a plusieurs façons de plumer un canard = there’s more than one way to skin a cat [a problem generally has more than one solution] [source].

Ce matin, il a fait froid de canard ici à Bangor avec du givre partout. (This morning it was rather chilly here in Bangor with frost everywhere).

Words from the same roots include can in English, kanna (jug, pot, can) in Swedish, kane (swan-shapped vessel) in Norwegian, Kahn (a small flat-bottomed boat such as a punt, used on inland waters; a ship, especially when old or in need of repair) in German, and canot (dinghy) in French [source].

In English, canard [kəˈnɑːd / kəˈnɑɹd] can mean:

A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
A type of aircraft in which the primary horizontal control and stabilization surfaces are in front of the main wing.
Any small winglike structure on a vehicle, usually used for stabilization.

Apparently, the meaning of a hoax or false or misleading story comes from the Medieval French expression “vendre un canard à moitié”, which means ‘to sell half a duck’ or ‘to half-sell a duck’. It perhaps comes from a joke or story [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].

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].

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Category: Old French (Franceis)