Category: Proto-Indo-European

Kitchen Fruit

By Simon

Is the word kitchen related to the words apricot, pumpkin and melon? Let’s find out.

My kitchen / Fy nghegin
This is my current kitchen, which will soon be replaced with a new one, that I bought this week.

Kitchen [ˈkɪtʃ(ɪ)n / ˈkɪtʃ(ə)n] comes from Middle English kichen(e), from Old English cyċene (kitchen), from Proto-West Germanic *kukinā (kitchen), from Late Latin cocīna (kitchen), from coquīna (cooking, kitchen, cookery), from coquō (to cook, ripen), from earlier *quoquō, from Proto-Italic *kʷekʷō (to cook), from Proto-Indo-European *pékʷeti (to be cooking, to ripen), from *pekʷ- (to cook, ripen) [source].

Apricots

Apricot was originally apricock in English, from Catalan abrecoc / abricoc (apricot), from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق (al-barqūq – plums), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκία (berikokkía – apricot tree), from Ancient Greek πραικόκιον (praikókion – apricot), from Late Latin (persica) praecocia (“(peaches) which ripen early”), from praecox (ripe before its time, premature, precocious, untimely), from prae- (before) and coquō (to cook, ripen), from Proto-Italic *kʷekʷō (to cook), from PIE *pékʷeti (to be cooking, to ripen), from *pekʷ- (to cook, ripen) [source].

Pumpkins!

Pumpkin comes from Middle French pompon (melon, cucumber), from Latin pepō (pumpkin, large melon), from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn – large melon), from πέπων (pépōn – ripe), from πέπτω (péptō – ripen), an alternative form of πέσσω (péssō – to soften, ripen, boil, cook, bake), from Proto-Hellenic *péťťō (to cook, ripen), from PIE *pékʷ-ye-, from *pekʷ- (to cook, ripen) [source].

Melons

Melon comes from Middle English melo(u)n (melon), from Old French melon (melon), from Late Latin melonem (melon), from Latin melopeponem, from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn – melon), from μῆλον (mêlon – apple, any fruit from a tree) + πέπων (pépōn – ripe) from PIE *pékʷonts (cooking, ripening), from *pekʷ- (to cook, ripen) [source].

So parts of them at least share a common root: PIE *pekʷ- (to cook, ripen).

Other words from the same root include biscuit, concoct, cook, cuisine, dyspepsia (indigestion) and precocious in English; keuken (kitchen, cuisine), kok (cook, chef) and koken (to cook, boil, seethe) in Dutch; and cegin (kitchen), cogydd(es) (cook), pobi (to bake, roast), poeth (hot, spicy) and popty (oven, bakery) in Welsh [source].

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Hire & Rent

By Simon

In English, you might say that you rent a house or a flat (apartment), but you hire a car or a boat. These words have similar meanings, but might be used slightly differently.

Rent

Rent [ɹɛnt] means

  • A payment made by a tenant at intervals in order to lease a property.
  • A similar payment for the use of a product, equipment or a service.
  • A profit from possession of a valuable right, as a restricted licence to engage in a trade or business.
  • To take a lease of premises in exchange for rent.
  • To grant a lease in return for rent.
  • To obtain or have temporary possession of an object (e.g. a movie) in exchange for money.

It comes from Middle English rent(e) (rent, income, revenue), from Old French rente (income), from Early Medieval Latin rendita (revenue, income), from Late Latin rendere (to give back), from Latin reddere (to give back, return, restore, deliver, provide) [source].

Hire [haɪə / ˈhaɪ.ɚ] as a noun means

  • A person who has been hired, especially in a cohort.
  • The state of being hired, or having a job; employment.
  • Payment for the temporary use of something.

It comes from Middle English hire/hyre (one’s salary, wages, a reward, recompense, payment, charge), from Old English hȳr (employment for wages, pay for service, interest on money lent), from Proto-West-Germanic *hūʀiju (payment, hire, interest), from *hūʀijan (to hire, pay), from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kewHs- (to pay, hire) [source].

Hire as a verb means:

  • To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. (chiefly UK)
  • To occupy premises in exchange for rent. (chiefly UK)
  • To employ; to obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job.
  • To exchange the services of for remuneration.

It comes from Middle English hiren/hyren (to hire, pay, accept employment), from Old English hȳrian (to hire) from hȳr (see above) [source].

So it seems that they can both be used to refer to payment for temporary or short-term use of something, and for longer term use. How would you use them?

I’m in the fortunate position of owning my own home, so don’t need to worry about paying rent. I don’t own a car, but if I needed one, I would hire one. If I needed some extra income, and/or wanted some company, I could rent out a room in my house. Last night was Halloween, and I saw a lot of people out and about in costumes that they might have hired.

Are there different words for short- and long-term hiring / renting in other languages?

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Pans of Cream

By Simon

The Italian word panna looks like it could mean pan or something similar, but in fact means cream.

A lot of Italian words are similar to words in Spanish, French or English, so you can often guess their meanings, but sometimes you come across words like this that don’t mean what you might expect them to mean.

Panna Montata Bimby

Panna [ˈpan.na] comes from panno, which means cloth, as cream covers milk like a cloth, from Latin pānnus (cloth, rag, garment), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (fabric). Or from Latin patina (a broad, shallow dish, a pan, a kind of cake, a crib, a manger), from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē – a kind of flat dish) [source].

Types of panna in Italian include:

  • panna acida = sour(ed) cream
  • panna da cucina = long-life cream used for cooking, double cream (UK)
  • panna montata = whipped cream [source]
  • panna cotta = panna cotta – a northern Italian dessert consisting of flavoured double cream set with gelatine, often served with fruit sauce or caramel syrup.). Lit. “cooked cream” [source]

Other words that come from the Latin pānnus include (window) pane in English, pan (piece, part, side, face, flap, patch) in French, pano (cloth, rag) in Portuguese, paño (cloth, wipe) in Spanish, and πανί (paní – cloth, fabric, sail) in Greek [source].

Other words from the Latin patina and/or Ancient Greek πατάνη include pan, patina (a coat, film, glaze) in English, patena (paten – the plate used to hold the host during the Eucharist) in Italian, panela (a solid piece of unrefined sugar; a Mexican cheese) in Spanish, pan (pan, cooking pot) in Dutch, Pfanne (frying pan) in German, panna (forehead, brow, pan, boiler) in Swedish, pande (forehead, pan) in Danish [source].

The word crema [ˈkrɛ.ma] is also used in Italian for cream, particularly to cleaning creams, lotions, the colour cream or cream flavour. For example, crema solare is sun cream, crema per il viso is face cream, crema detergente is cleansing cream, crema da barba is shaving cream and so on [source].

Crema comes from French crème (cream, cool), from Middle French chresme (cream), from Old French cresme (cream), from Latin crāma, from crāmum (cream), possibly from Gaulish *crama (?), from Proto-Celtic *krammen (?), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krama- (?) [source].

Related words include:

  • cremino = a chocolate truffle, a creamy cheese
  • cremoso = creamy
  • cremosamente = creamily
  • cremosità = creaminess
  • scremàre = to skim, to cream off

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Buttery Donkeys

By Simon

In my Italian lessons today, I learnt the word burro, which means butter. In Spanish, the same word means donkey, and I decided to find out more about these words.

Buttery Donkeys

Burro [ˈbur.ro] (butter) in Italian comes from Old French burre (butter), from Latin būtȳrum (butter), from Ancient Greek βούτῡρον [bǔː.tyː.ron] (butter), from βοῦς (boûs – cow) and‎ τυρός (turós – cheese) [source].

Words from the same roots include butter in English, boter (butter) in Dutch, buerre (butter) in French, and βούτυρο [ˈvu.ti.ɾo] (butter) in Greek [source].

Related words and expressions in Italian include:

  • burrificàre = to churn (cream, to make butter)
  • burroso = buttery
  • imburràre = to butter, grease with butter
  • butirro = butter (for cooking)
  • avere le mani di burro = to be butter-fingered [source]

Aberdeen Butteries Recipe

Incidentally, in England a buttery can refer to a room for keeping food or beverages, a storeroom, or a room in a university where snacks are sold. While in Scotland, particularly in Aberdeen, a buttery is a savoury bread roll (see photo above), also known as a rowie, Aberdeen buttery, Aberdeen roll or rollie [source].

Wild Burros

The Spanish word burro [ˈburo] means stupid, pig-headed, donkey, racehorse, also-ran, stubborn fool, sawhorse or swing [source]. The same word with similar meanings is also found in Catalan, Galician and Portuguese [source].

It comes from borrico (donkey, a stubborn, lazy, or stupid person), from Latin burricus (small horse), from burrus (red, reddish-brown), from Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós – flame colored, red-haired, red, blushing), from πῦρ (pûr – fire, lightning, fever), Proto-Hellenic *pāwər, from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (fire, spelt [grain]) [source].

Words from the same roots include burlap (a very strong, coarse cloth), fire, purge, pyre, pyromancy (divination by fire) in English; πυρ (pyr – fire) in Greek; vuur (fire, heater, lighter) in Dutch, and fona (spark) in Portuguese [source].

Related words and expressions in Spanish include:

  • burrero = horse-loving, race-going, mule/donley driver, coarse person, horse-lover
  • burro de agua = big wave
  • burro de carga = workhorse, dogsbody, beast of burden, drudge, pack mule
  • burro de planchar = ironing board
  • lomo de burro = speed bump
  • salto de burro = leapfrog
  • ponerse burro = to dig one’s heels in, be pigheaded
  • caerse del burro = to admit defeat
  • no ver tres en un burro = to be as blind as a bat
  • trabajar como un burro = to work like a dog / horse [source]

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Mushrooms Hats

By Simon

An interesting Spanish word I learnt recently is hongo [ˈonɡo], which means fungus, fungal growth, mushroom, toadstool, bowler hat and derby. As this appears very different to words for mushroom in other Romance languages, such as champignon in French, I wondered where it came from.

setas, hongos

Hongo comes from Old Spanish fongo (mushroom), from Latin fungus (mushroom, fungus, fungal infection, candle-snuff, dolt, idiot), from sfungus, from Ancient Greek σπόγγος (spóngos – spongue, tonsil), the origins of which are unknown [source].

Words from the same roots include sfungjer (sponge) in Albanian, սպունգ [spunɡ] (sponge) in Armenian, sponge in English, spugna (sponge, drunkard) in Italian, and сунѓер [ˈsuɲɟɛr] (sponge) in Macedonian [source].

Related words and expressions in Spanish include:

  • hongo venenoso = toadstool
  • nube de hongo = mushroom cloud
  • sombrero hongo = bowler hat [source]
  • valer hongo = worthless – colloquial, vulgar – used in Chile [source]

Other words from mushroom in Spanish include:

  • champiñón, which means (button) mushroom, fungus or mold, and was borrowed from French champignon (mushroom, fungus) [source]
  • seta, which is used in Latin America to mean mushroom, and possibly comes from Ancient Greek σηπτά (septá – lost things), from σηπτός (septos) [source]
  • callampa = mushroom or umbrella, and in the plural, callampas, shanty town. It’s used in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, and comes from Quechua qallampa or Aymara qallampa [source]

The French word champignon (mushroom, fungus, fungal infection, accelerator pedal), comes from Vulgar Latin *campāniolus (mushroom, lit. ‘grows in the field’), from Late Latin campāneus (of or pertaining to the fields), from Latin campānia (plain, countryside surrounding a city, cultivatable land), from campus (open flat level ground, a plain, a natural field), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s, from *kh₂emp- (to bend, curve, smooth) [source].

Incidentally, the English word mushroom comes from Middle English muscheron (mushroom, fungus, toadstool, a surname), from Anglo-Norman musherum, from Old French mousseron / moisseron (mushroom), possibly from Old French mosse/moise (moss) [source].

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Battering Down the Door

By Simon

Yesterday I learnt that a French word for door knocker is heurtoir. I wondered if this is related to the English word hurt. Let’s find out.

DSC08266

Heutoir [œʁ.twaʁ] means door-knocker, knocker, (rail) buffer or bumper. It comes from heurter (to hit, collide with, upset, clash, strike, knock), from Middle French heurter, from Old French hurter (to ram into, strike, collide with), from Frankish *hūrt (a battering ram), from Proto-Germanic *hrūtaną, *hreutaną (to fall, fly, move quickly), from Proto-Indo-European *krew- (to fall, beat, smash, strike, break) [source].

Related words and expressions in French include:

  • heurt [œʁ] = collision, bump, clash
  • sans heurts = smoothly
  • heurté = jerky, uneven
  • heurter de plein fouet = to crash headlong
  • heurter qn de front = to clash head-on with sb
  • s’heurter (à) = to collide, crash into, bump, bang into, come up against
  • entreheurter = to hit one another [source]

Words from the same Proto-Germanic roots include rout (to beat, strike, assail) in Scots, hrjóta (to snore) in Icelandic, and aürtar (to knock, bump against) in Catalan [source].

So where does the English word hurt come from?

It comes from Middle English hurten (to injure, wound hurt), from Old Northern French hurter (to ram into, strike, collide with), either from Frankish *hūrt (a battering ram), or from Old Norse hrútr (ram [male sheep]), from hjǫrtr (stag), from Proto-Germanic *herutuz (hart, male deer), which is related to the English word hart (a male deer) [source].

So heurtoir and hurt might be related, but we can’t be sure.

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What’s that noise?

By Simon

Did you know that the Italian word rumore doesn’t mean rumo(u)r, as you might expect, but rather noise, rumble, sound or clatter. Is it connected to the English word rumo(u)r? Let’s find out.

Rumore

Rumore comes from Latin rūmōrem (vague noises, rumours), from rūmor (rumo(u)r), hearsay, gossip, rustle, murmur, a murmuring, the voice of the people), from Proto-Italic *roumōs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewH- (to shout, to roar) [source]. A related word in Latin is rūmusculus (idle gossip) [source].

Related words and expressions in Italian include:

  • rumoreggiare = to rumble, clamo(u)r
  • rumoreggiare = to rumble, clamo(u)r
  • rumorista = noisemaker, foley artist
  • rumoroso = noisy, loud
  • rumorosamente = noisily
  • antirumore = anti-noise, soundproof, noise-cancelling, noise-reducing
  • un rumore sordo = a thud
  • rumore bianco = white noise
  • rumore di sottofondo = background noise
  • la notizia ha fatto molto rumore = the news aroused great interest [source]

Words from the same Latin roots include rumoer (rumo(u)r, noise) in Dutch, rumo(u)r in English, rumeur (rumo(u)r) in French, rumur (rumo(u)r, continuous noise) in Portuguese, and rumor (rumo(u)r, murmur) in Spanish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include řvát (to yell, roar) in Czech, реветь [rʲɪˈvʲetʲ] (to roar, bellow, howl, cry, weep) in Russian, and possibly ωρύομαι [oˈri.o.me] (to howl) in Greek, and rāvis (hoarseness) in Latvian [source].

So the English word rumo(u)r is related. It means “A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth.” or “Information or misinformation of the kind contained in such claims.”. It used to mean a report, new, information in general, fame, reputation, clamour, din or outcry [source].

It comes from Middle English rumour (rumour, gossip, hearsay; a report, tidings, news; loud shouting, noise, din; outcry of protest or disapproval; a disturbance, stir, tumult) [source], from Old French rimur (noise [produced by an army on the march]), from Latin rūmōrem [source].

In Old English, the word hlýd meant rumo(u)r or the noise made in discussing an event [source], and also noise, sound, tumult, disturbance or dissension. Another word for rumour was hlísa, which also meant sound, fame or glory [source].

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Stanzas, Cameras and Salons

By Simon

The Italian word stanza [ˈstan.tsa] means room or bedroom. I noticed it recently in my Italian lessons, and wondered where it came from. Today I realised that it’s related to the English word stanza (a part of a poem equivalent to a verse), and also has that meaning in Italian.

Villa Panza - Robert Wilson, Ivory. Black Panther, 2007

It comes from Vulgar Latin *stantia (standing, stopping-place), from Latin stantem (standing, staying, remaining), from stō (to stand, stay, remain), from Proto-Italic *staēō (to stand), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (to stand) [source].

The English word stanza [ˈstænzə], which was borrowed from Italian, can also refer to:

  • An apartment or division in a building (architecture)
  • A segment or portion of a broadcast devoted to a particular topic (broadcasting)
  • A period or interval into which a sporting event is divided (sports)

It is also used in computing.

Words from the same roots include stance, stand, distant, estate, stable, stage, state, station, status and store in English, sawdl (heel) in Welsh, Staat (country, state) in German, and stam (tree trunk, stem, tribe, clan) in Dutch [source].

Other words for room in Italian include sala and camera.

Sala can also refer to a hall, living room or cinema (movie theatre), and was borrowed from French salle (hall, room), which ultimately comes from PIE *sel- (human settlement, village, dwelling), via Middle and Old French, Frankish and Proto-Germanic. The English words salon and saloon come from the same roots [source].

Camera is a room, chamber, bedroom, assembly, parliament or camera. It comes from Latin camera (chamber, room, vault), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára – a vaulted chamber, vault), from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (something curved), from *kamárati, ultimately from PIE *kh₂em- (to bend, curve) [source].

Words from the same roots include camera, cabaret and chamber in English, قَمَرَة (qamara – berth, bunk, cabin) in Arabic, καμάρα (kamára – arch, instep) in Greek, chambre (room, chamber, bedroom) and cabaret (pub, tavern, cabaret) in French, and câmara (chamber, council, camera) in Portuguese [source].

IMG_4321

Camera, as in a device for taking photos and/or videos, is an abbreviation of camera obscura (A darkened room in which the image of an outside object is projected and focused onto a surface – see above) from New Latin camera obscūra (“dark chamber”) [source].

In English, camera can also mean a vaulted room or a judge’s private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera (in secret, in private).

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Foolish Consistency

By Simon

Insanity - definitions

Albert Einstein supposedly said:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

It sounds like something he might have said, but there’s no evidence that he did. According to Quote Investigator®, the most likely source of this saying is a Narcotics Anoymous pamphlet published in November 1981, in which they say:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Here something that Einstein did actual say that has a somewhat similar meaning:

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

He also said:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Hobgoblin Squad

Another quotation that I came across the other day that has a related meaning is:

“a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”

This appears in Self Reliance, an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson that was published in Essays: First Series in 1841. Here’s a longer version:

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.”

Apparently he meant this as criticism of a refusal to change one’s mind or adjust one’s position in light of new facts or different situations.

So what is an actual definition of insanity?

Here are a few:

  1. The state of being insane; madness.
  2. Unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand that prevents someone from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or that releases someone from criminal or civil responsibility (law)
  3. Extreme folly or unreasonableness
  4. Something utterly foolish or unreasonable

Insanity is a combination of in- (not), sane and -ity (the state of). It comes either from Latin insānus (unsound in mind, mad, insane) and -itās; or from in- (lacking, without), sanitās (health, sanity). Insānus and sanitās both come from sānus (sound, sane, well, correct), possibly from PIE *seh₂-no-, from *seh₂- (to satisfy), or from PIE *swā-n- (healthy, whole, active, vigorous).

Incidentally, what is a hobgoblin when it’s at home?

  1. A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans. [from 1520s]
  2. A source of dread, fear or apprehension; a bugbear.

From hob (elf, from Hob, a variant of Rob, short for Robin Goodfellow, an elf in German folklore), and goblin (a malevolent and grotesque diminutive humanoid).

In some of the stories I read, such as Wandering Inn, hobgoblins are larger varieties of goblins, and don’t always make trouble for humans, and are not a source of dread, fear or apprehension for those who get to know them.

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Sources:
https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/26-genius-quotes-from-albert-einstein-that-will-make-you-sound-smarter.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Emerson_and_Wilde_on_consistency
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insanity
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sanus#Latin
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insanity
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hobgoblin

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Rucksacks & Mistletoe

By Simon

What links the Italian word zaino (rucksack, backpack) with the English word mistletoe? Let’s find out.

escursione monte pramaggiore 2479m s.l.m.

Zaino [ˈdzaj.no] means rucksack, backpack, sack or bag in Italian [source]. It comes from Lombardic *zainjā (basket), from Old High German zeina (basket), from Proto-Germanic *tainijǭ (wickerwork, wicker basket), from *tainaz (rod, twig), the origins of which are unknown [source].

Words from the same roots include teen (twig, thin branch) in Dutch, Zain (rod, branch, whip) in German, tein (twig, offshoot, spindle) in Norwegian, ten (small stick or rod) in Swedish, and zana (a shallow, oval basket) in Italian [source].

mistletoe

Misletoe (a parasitic evergreen plant with white berries which grows on oaks, apple and other trees* – see above) comes from Middle English mistelto, mistilto (misletoe), from Old English misteltān, misteltān (misletoe), from mistel (mistletoe, basil, birdlime) + tān (twig, branch) [source].

*This refers to European misletoe,Viscum album. Other varieties of mistletoe are available [source].

Mistel comes from Proto-West Germanic *mistil (mistletoe), from Proto-Germanic *mistilaz (mistletoe), from Proto-Indo-European *me (with, mid) + *sed- (to sit) + *-ilaz (diminutive suffix), so mistletoe is a little plant that sits on other plants – a good description. The English word mistle, as in mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus – see below), comes from the same roots, and used to be used to mean misletoe [source].

Mistle Thrush

The Old English word tān (twig, branch) comes from Proto-Germanic *tainaz (rod, twig) [source], like the Italian word zaino, so there we have our connection. In Lancashire dialect, a tan used to refer to a twig or branch [source].

Incidentally, mistletoe in Italian is vischio [vi.skjo], which comes from Vulgar Latin *visclum, from Latin viscum (mistletoe, birdlime), the origins of which are uncertain [source]. The Portuguese word visgo (viscosity, any viscous substance secreted by or extracted from plants, mistletoe) comes from the same roots [source], as do viscous, viscose and viscosity in English [source]

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