Jolly Jaunts

14 April 202514 April 2025 By Simon

Do you like to go on a little jaunt? Maybe you do now, but in the past, maybe not so much.

a jaunting car going for a jaunt

Jaunt is [ˈdʒɔːnt / dʒɑnt] refers to a short excursion for pleasure or refreshment, a ramble or a short journey; and to jaunt means to ramble here and there, to stroll or to make an excursion [source].

In the past it meant a wearisome journey, to jolt or jounce, to ride a jaunting car, or to tire a horse by riding it hard back and forth. That doesn’t sound like so much fun.

To jounce means to jolt or shake, especially by rough riding or by driving over obstructions. It is possibly a blend / portmanteau of jolt and bounce [source].

A jaunting car (see photo above) was a kind of low-set horse-drawn open vehicle, used in Ireland, in which the passengers ride sideways, sitting back to back. They are still used to give rides to tourists in some places, apparently, and the name is used for similar horse-drawn passenger vehicles [source].

The origins of jaunt are uncertain – it’s possibly a version of daunt (to discourage, intimidate, overwhelm), which comes from Middle English daunten (to subjugate, overwhelm, domesticate), from Old French danter, donter (to tame), from Latin domitō (to tame), from domō (to tame, conquer), from Proto-Italic *domaō (to tame, subdue), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (to domesticate, tame). [source].

Related words may include jaunce (to prance, frolic, jolt shake; a jaunt) in English [source], and jaunder (gossip, to talk idly) in Scots [source].

Incidentally, the word jaunty, which means airy, showy, dapper, stylish or ostentatiously self-confident, is not related to jaunt. Instead, it’s related to gentle, genteel and gentry, and comes from French gentil (helpful, kind, pleasant), from Old French gentil (noble, courteous), from Latin gentīlis (belonging to the same family, tribe, clan, etc), from gēns (clan, tribe), Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (birth, production) from *ǵenh₁- (to produce, beget, give birth) [source].

Bloody Pencils

4 April 20254 April 2025 By Simon

One Italian word that I learnt recently is matita, which means pencil, but looks nothing like words for pencil in other languages I know, so I wondered where it comes from.

Maita [maˈti.ta] comes from ematite (haematite), from Latin (lapis) haematites (‘haematite (stone)’, a red-coloured gem), from Ancient Greek αἱματίτης (haimatítēs – bloodlike), from αἷμα (haîma – blood, race, stock, kin) [source]. It has been borrowed into Armenian as մատիտ (matit – pencil) [source].

Words from the same roots include αίμα (aíma – blood) in Greek, words beginning with haem(o)- in English, such as haemocyte (a blood cell), haemopathy (any disorder or disease of the blood), haemorrhage (a heavy release of blood within or from the body), and emoteca (blood bank) in Italian [source].

Haematite / Hematite (Fe₂O₃) is a kind of iron oxide, is found in rocks and soils in many places. It occurs naturally in such colours as black, sliver-grey, brown, reddish-brown and red, and rods of haematite were once used as pencils. It is also used to make jewellery and other art.

Ochre, a clay containing varying amounts of haematite, which give it a red, brown, yellow or purple colour, has been used as a pigment in decoration, drawing and writing for a very long time. The earliest known examples of human use were found at the Pinnacle Point caves in South Africa, and date from about 164,000 years ago.

Incidentally, ochre comes from Old French ocre, from Latin ōchra (ochre, yellow earth), from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra – yellow ochre), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós pale, sallow, wan) [source].

More information about haematite and ochre:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematite
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre

Another word for pencil in Italian is lapis, which also means sanguine (blood-red, blood-coloured), and comes from Latin lapis (haematites) ((haematite) stone), from Proto-Italic *lapets (stone). Related words in other languages include llapis (pencil) in Catalan, lapes (pencil) in Maltese, lápiz (pencil) in Spanish, and lapidary (a person who cuts and polishes, engraves, or deals in gems and precious stones), and lapis lazuli (a deep-blue stone used in jewellery [see above], and to make pigment) in English [source].

You can find out about the origins of the English word pencil in the post Pens and Pencils.

Squally Showers

26 March 2025 By Simon

One of the words that came up in my Spanish lessons recently was chubascos, which it translated as (rain) showers. I wondered where it comes from, and thought I’d investigate.

In Spanish, chubasco [tʃuˈβ̞as.ko] means downpour, squall, heavy shower, setback or a rain shower, particularly one associated with heavy wind. In nautical usage, it refers to a dark cloud which suddenly appears in the horizon, potentially foretelling rough sailing conditions [source].

Related expressions include:

chubascos dispersos = scattered showers
chubasquero = a waterproof raincoat
aguantar el chubasco = to weather the storm

Chubasco comes from Portuguese chuvasco (downpour, shower), or from Galician chuvasco (downpour, shower), which both come from Old Galician-Portuguese chuvia (rain), from Latin pluvia (rain, a shower), from pluit (to rain, be raining), from Proto-Italic *plowō, from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (to flow, float, wash) [source].

The word chubasco [tʃuːˈbɑːskəʊ] also exists in English and refers to a violent squall with thunder and lightning, encountered during the rainy season along the Pacific coast of Central America and South America. It was borrowed from Spanish [source].

Words from the same roots include chuva (rain) in Portuguese, choiva (rain) in Galician, lluvia (rain, rainfall, stream, barrage, shower, spray) in Spanish, and pioggia (rain, shower) in Italian pluie (rain) in French, and pluvious (involving or related to rain, rainy) in English [source].

By the way, someone who loves rain, and/or finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days, or an organism that thrives in a rainy environment is a pluviophile and is pluviophilious, and another name for a rain gauge is a pluvioscope [source].

Other rain-related words in Spanish include:

llover = to rain
llovedizo = rain, leaky
llovizna = drizzle
lloviznar = to drizzle, mizzle
lluvioso = rainy
pluvioso = rainy, pluvious
pluvial = rain, pluvial (of, pertaining to, or produced by rain)

Incidentally, the English word rain comes from Middle English reyn (rain, shower), from Old English reġn (rain), from Proto-West Germanic *regn (rain), from Proto-Germanic *regną (rain), possibly from pre-Germanic *Hréǵ-no-, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreǵ- (to flow). It’s cognate with Regen (rain) in German, regn (rain) in Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, rõki (drizzling rain) in Lithuanian, and regar (irrigate, water, scatter, hose, ruin) in Spanish [source].

Pasting Meals

7 January 20257 January 2025 By Simon

The Italian words pasto and pasta look and sound similar, but are they related? Let’s find out.

Pasto [ˈpa.sto] means meal, and comes from Latin pāstus (fed, nourished, consumed, pastured, satiated, satisfied), from pāscor (to feed oneself, to eat, graze, feed, nourish, pasture, browse, from Proto-Italiac *pāskōr (I am fed, driven to pasture) from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (to protect, ward, shepherd) [source].

Words from the same roots include feed, fodder, food, pasture and repast in English, paître (to graze), repas (meal), and possibly pain (bread) in French, pascere (to graze) in Italian, and pasto (pasture, lawn, grass) in Spanish [source].

Pasta [ˈpa.sta] in Italian means dough, pastry, pasta, cake or paste, and can also refer to the nature or mo(u)ld of a person, e.g. sone tutt’e due delle stessa pasta = they’re both cast from the same mo(u)ld [source].

Here are some examples of how the word pasta is used in Italian:

pasta in brodo = noodle soup
pasta fatta in casa = home-made pasta
pasta frolla = shortcrust pastry
pasta sfoglia = puff pastry
pasta all’uovo = egg pasta
pasta dentifricia = toothpaste
pasta di mandorle = almond paste

It comes from Late Latin pasta (paste, pasta), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá – barley porridge), from παστός (pastós – sprinkled with salt), from πάσσω (pássō – to sprinkle), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷeh₁t- (to shake).

Words from the same roots include παστός (pastós – salted, preserved with salt, corned) in Greek, quash (to defeat decisively, suppress, void) in English, quassare (to shake, agitate) in Italian, casser (to break) in French, and , cascar (to crack, split) in Spanish [source].

In British English, pasta refers to Italian pasta, that is, dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating [source]. Types of Italian pasta include calamarata, cannelloni, farfalle, fettuccine, fusilli, gnocchi, lasagne, linguine, macaroni, orecchie d’asini, orecchiette, penne, radiatori, spaghetti, tagliatelle, tortellini, vesuvio, and vermicelli [source].

One of those types of pasta I made up. Do you know which one?

In American English, the word noodle(s) apparently can refer both to Italian pasta, and Asia noodles, while in the UK, noodle(s) normally only refers to Asia noodles, such as Japanese ramen. What about in other varieties of English?

Kaput Capes

13 November 2024 By Simon

What does the word kaput have to do with words like cape, chapter and cap? Let’s find out.

Kaput [kəˈpʊt] refers to something that is out of order or not working in English. It was borrowed from German kaputt (destroyed, broken, out of order, tired, exhausted), which comes from the French phrase être capot (not having won any trick in a card game). The origin of this phrase is uncertain, but capot (bonnet, hood) comes from Old French capote (hooded cloak) a diminutive of cape (cape), from Late Latin cappa (cape, cloak), possibly from Latin capitulāre (head tax, poll tax), from caput (head, top, summit, point, end), from Proto-Italic *kaput (head), from Proto-Indo-European *káput- (head), from *kap (head, bowl, cup) [source].

Cape, as in a sleeveless garment or part of a garment, hanging from the neck over the back, arms, and shoulders, comes from French cape (cape), from Old Occitan capa, from Late Latin cappa (cape, cloak), ultimately from PIE *káput- (head) – see above. Cape, as in a promontory or headland, comes from the same roots, via Middle English cape, Old French cap (cape, headland) and Latin caput (head, top, etc) [source].

Chapter (one of the main sections into which the text of a book is divided) comes from Middle English chapitre (chapter, passage, section of a book), from Old French chapitre (chapter), from Latin capitulum (a chapter of a book), a diminutive of caput (head, top, etc) [source].

Cap (a close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked) comes from Middle English cappe (cap, hat), from Old English cæppe (hat, hood), from Proto-West Germanic *kappā (covering, hood, mantle), from Late Latin cappa (cape, cloak), from Latin caput (head, top, etc) [source].

So they all share a common root, the PIE *káput- (head) and arrived in modern English by various different routes.

Other words from the same root include cadet, capital and captain, chef, chief(tain) and head in English; hoofd (head, chief, boss) in Dutch; huvud (head) in Swedish; capo (head, boss, chief, leader) in Italian; cadeau (present, gift) in French, and capăt (termination, end, extremity) in Romanian [source].

Kitchen Fruit

8 November 2024 By Simon

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

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].

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].

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].

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].

Buttery Donkeys

4 October 20244 October 2024 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]

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].

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]

What’s that noise?

11 September 202411 September 2024 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].

Stanzas, Cameras and Salons

30 August 2024 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.

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].

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).

Muchedumbre

11 July 202415 July 2024 By Simon

In one of the Spanish lessons I did on Duolingo this morning, I came across the interesting word muchedumbre, and thought I’d write a post about it.

Muchedumbre [mutʃeˈðumbɾe] means crowd, throng, multitude, mob, herd, or flock (of birds). It comes from Old Spanish muchedumne, muchidumne, from Latin multitūdinem (a great number [of people], multitude, numerousness, crowd, mob, throng), from multus (much, many), from Proto-Italic *moltos (much, many), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós (crumbled, crumpled), from *mel- (to worry, be late, hesitate) [source].

Words from the same roots possibly include mejor (better, best), muy (very), mucho (much, a lot of, many) and multitud (multitude, crowd, a lot, loads) in Spanish, multitude in English, and mieux (better, best) in French [source].

Incidentally, if you’re keen on crowds, you might like to darse un baño de multitudes (to mingle with the crowd) [source], or darse un baño de masas (to go on a walkabout) [source]. Un baño de masas can also mean ‘to walk into the crowd (by a famous person)’ [source]. This might attract una muchedumbre de admiradores (a crowd of admirers).

I tend to avoid crowds, which isn’t difficult living in a small city in the wilds of north Wales. How about you?

Omniglot Blog

Adventures in the world of words and language

Category: Proto-Italic

Jolly Jaunts

Bloody Pencils

Squally Showers

Pasting Meals

Kaput Capes

Kitchen Fruit

Buttery Donkeys

What’s that noise?

Stanzas, Cameras and Salons

Muchedumbre