Piecemeal Time

25 April 2025 By Simon

The word piecemeal means made or done in pieces or one stage at a time, but why meal? Does it have something to do with food?

Piecemeal is [ˈpiːs.miːl] comes from Middle English pēce(s)-mēle (in pieces, piece by piece, bit by bit), from pēce(s) (a fragment, bit, piece) and -mēl(e) (a derivational suffix in adverbs) [source].

Pēce(s) comes from Old French piece (piece, bit, part), from Late Latin pettia (piece, portion), from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (piece, portion), possibly from a non-Indo-European substrate [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots include piece in English, pièce (room, patch, piece, play, document) in French, peza (piece, fragment, part) in Galician, pieze (piece, part) in Spanish, peth (thing, object, material) in Welsh, pezh (piece, bit, room, part, what) in Breton, cuid (part, share, portion, some) in Irish, and cooid (certain, some, stuff, goods, part) in Manx – for more related words in Celtic languages see the Parts and Portions post on the Celtiadur [source].

-mēle comes from Old English mǣlum (at a time), from mǣl (measure, mark, sign, time, occasion, season, the time for eating, meal[time]), from Proto-West Germanic *māl (time, occasion, mealtime), from Proto-Germanic *mēlą (time, occasion, period, meal, spot, mark, measure), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”) [source].

The English word meal can refer to food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity (as opposed to a snack), and food served or eaten as a repast, and used to mean a time or an occasion. It retains this last meaning in the word piecemeal. Related words include footmeal (one foot at a time) and heapmeal (in large numbers, heap by heap) [source].

Related words in other languages include maal (meal, time, occurrence) in Dutch, Mal (time, occasion) and Mahl (meal) in German, mål (target, finish, goal, meal) in Swedish, and béile (meal) in Irish.

In Old English, the word styċċemǣlum was used to mean piecemeal, piece by piece, in pieces, gradually, etc. It became stichmeal in early modern English. Related words include bitmǣlum (bit by bit), dropmǣlum (drop by drop), which became dropmeal, and stæpmǣlum (step by step), which became stepmeal [source].

Lord of the Marches

11 April 202511 April 2025 By Simon

How do you pronounce the word marquis? This is something I was discussing with a friend the other day, and we concluded that there is no one right way to say it.

In the UK, one way to pronounce marquis is [ˈmɑː.kwɪs] (mah-kwis), although some people prefer to pronounce it [ˈmɑː.ki] (mah-kee). In General American, it is apparently pronounced [mɑɹˈki] (mar-kee) or [ˈmɑɹ.kwɪs] (mar-kwis). Other pronounciations are no doubt available

What is a marquis, you may ask. According to Wiktionary:

A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by letters patent or letters close.
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Bassarona (or Euthalia).

It literally means “lord of the march” (march as in border country), and comes from Middle English markis (marquis), from Old French marchis (marquis), from Midieval Latin marchensis, from Old High German marcha (border, march) and/or Frankish *markōn (to mark, notice), from Proto-Germanic *markō (border, boundary, region,area), from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (border, boundary) [source].

Related words in English include:

marquisate = the territory held by a marquis, margrave or marchioness; the state or rank of a marquis
marquess = a man ranking beneath a duke and above an earl (an alternative spelling of marquis)
marquise = marquee; an oval cut gemstone with pointed ends; a canopy
marquee = a large tent with open sides, used for outdoors entertainment; a projecting canopy over an entrance
marchioness = the wife of a marquess; a woman holding the rank of marquess in her own right
march = a formal, rhythmic way of walking, used especially by soldiers, by bands and in ceremonies; to walk with long, regular strides, as a soldier does; border region, especially one originally set up to defend a boundary (archaic, historical)
margin = the edge or border of any flat surface

Words from the same roots in other languages include mark (field) in Danish, mark (ground, land, soil, territory) in Swedish, margen (margin, edge, leeway) in Spanish, bro (region, country, land, neighbourhood, border, boundary) in Welsh, brolo (small vegetable garden) in Italian [source].

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].

Strong Strings

12 March 202512 March 2025 By Simon

Are the words string, strong, strength, strait, stretch and strict related? Let’s find out.

String comes from Middle English streng (rope, cord, line, thread, string, ribbon, muscle, tendon, ligament, filament), from Old English strenġ (string, rope, cord), from Proto-West Germanic *strangi (string), from Proto-Germanic *strangiz (string), from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (to twist; rope, cord), possibly from *sterh₃- (to spread, extend, stretch out) [source].

English words from the same roots include constrict, constrain, restrict, strong, strength, strain, strait, stress, strict, stricture and stringent.

Words from the same roots in other languages include stringere (to clasp, grasp, squeeze) in Italian, étreindre (to hug, clutch, grip) in French, streng (strict, severe, rigorous, unbending, cruel) in Dutch, sträng (strict, stern, severe) in Swedish, strangs (brave, brisk, fresh) in Latvian, rankka (burdensome, hard, intense, harsh, tough) in Finnish [source].

So, the odd one out in the list above is stretch, which comes from Middle English strecchen (to stretch out, spread, extend), from Old English streċċan (to stretch, extend, spread out, prostrate), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (to stretch, make straight), from *strak (stretched, straight), from Proto-Germanic *strakaz (stretched, straight) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)treg- (stiff, rigid).

Words from the same roots include stark in English, stark (strong) in German, strak (taut, tight) in Dutch, strække (to stretch) in Danish, and shtriqem (to stretch) in Albanian [source].

Here’s a tune from the music session I went to last night called The Bishop of Bangor’s Jig. It’s played on string instruments (fiddle, guitar and banjo), so is sort connected to the theme of this post.

You can find the dots: https://www.folktunefinder.com/tunes/94828

Go Climb a Tree

5 March 20255 March 2025 By Simon

Was the b in climb ever pronounced? Or was it added by interfering busybodies to make it more like a Latin root? Is it related to clamber? Let’s find out.

Climb comes from Middle English climben [ˈkliːmbən] (to scale, scale, soar, extend, reach), from Old English climban [ˈklim.bɑn] (to climb), from Proto-West Germanic *klimban (to climb), from Proto-Germanic *klimbaną [ˈklim.bɑ.nɑ̃] (to climb), possibly from *klibaną/*klibāną (to stick, cleave), from Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- (to stick, cling to) [source].

So the b was pronounced in Middle and Old English, and maybe it became silent when the word lost its en ending.

Words from the same roots include climbing, cleave, cliff and maybe clamber in English, klimmen (to climb) and kleven (to stick, glue, be sticky) in Dutch, kleben (to glue, stick) in German, and klífa (to climb) in Icelandic [source].

A word for to climb in Latin was scandere / scandō, which also means to ascend, mount or clamber. It comes from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (to jump, dart, scale, scan). Words from the same roots include ascend, descend, transcend, scale, scan, and possibly scandal and slander in English, ascendere (to go up, ascend, rise) in Italian, skandera (to chant) in Swedish, and esgyn (to ascend) in Welsh [source].

One of the tunes that was played at the music session I went to last night is called If you do not love me, go climb a tree (it may have other names) and goes something like this:

It inspired me to write this post. If you recognise the tune and know it by another name, do let me know.

Villainous Sharks

13 February 202513 February 2025 By Simon

In one of the Danish lessons I did recently, I learnt the word skurk, which means villain or baddie, and wondered where it comes from and what other words it’s related to. Let’s find out.

According to Den Danske Ordbog, a skurk [ˈsguɐ̯g] is a person who behaves in an unattractive, dishonest, or malicious manner, or a fictional character in a piece of fiction with the role of the hero’s evil counterpart and enemy or a person or thing that is or is made responsible for trouble or misfortune. In other words, a villain, baddie, wretch, cuplrit, reprobate or rogue [source].

It comes from Low German schurke (villian, scoundrel), from Middle High German schurgen (to shove, push, egg on), possibly from Old High German scuren (to stir, stoke up), from Proto-West-Germanic *skeran (to shear, cut), from Proto-Germanic *skeraną (to shear), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (to cut) [source].

Related words in Danish include skurkagtig (villainous), skurkeagtig (miscreant) and superskurk (super villain).

Related words in other languages include Schurke (villain, scoundrel) in German, skurk (crook, bad guy, rogue, villain) in Swedish, and skurk (crook) in Norwegian [source].

The English shark, as in someone who exploits others by trickery, lies, extortion, etc, also comes from the same roots, as might shark, as in a scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha [source].

Another English word that possibly comes from the same roots is shirk, as in to avoid responsibility, duty, obligations, etc [source].

Incidentally, before the word shark arrived in English, such fish were known as dogfish or hayes, which comes from Dutch haai (shark, a ruthless or greedy person) or from West Flemish haaie (shark), from Old Norse hái, an abbreviation of hákarl (shark), from hár (shark) and karl (a man). Related words include Hai (shark) in German, haj (shark) in Swedish and Danish, and акула (akula – shark) in Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian [source].

Satorial Tailoring

1 January 2025 By Simon

What links the word satorial with the words tailor in various languages? Let’s find out.

The word sartorial means:

Of or relating to the tailoring of clothing.
Of or relating to the quality of dress.
Of or relating to the sartorius muscle ( a long muscle in the leg.

It comes from New Latin sartorius (pertaining to a tailor), from Late Latin sartor (mender, patcher, tailor), from Latin sarcire (to patch, mend), sarciō (to patch, botch, mend, repair, restore, to make amends, recompense), from Proto-Indo-European *serḱ- (to mend, make good, recompense) [source].

Words from the same roots include sastre (tailor) in Spanish, Tagalog and Chavacano, xastre (tailor) in Asturian, Galician and Portuguese, sarto (tailor) in Italian, sertir (to crimp, set, socket [jewellery]) and the surname Sartre in French, and the obsolete English word sartor (tailor) [source].

The English word tailor, which refers to a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men’s clothing, comes from Middle English taillour (tailor), from Anglo-Norman tailloru (tailor), from Old French tailleor (tailor), from taillier (to cut, shape), from Late Latin tāliō (retaliation, to cut, prune), from Latin tālea (rod, stick, stake, a cutting, twig, sprig), the origins of which are uncertain [source].

Related words include tally (any account or score kept by notches or marks) in English, taille (size, waist) and tailler (to cut) in French, Teller (plate, dish) in German, táille (fee, charge) in Irish, talea (cutting, scion) in Italian, and taior (woman’s suit) in Romanian tajar (to cut, slice, chop) in Spanish [source].

I was inspired to write this post after learning that tailor in Spanish is sastre, and wondering where it comes from.

By the way, Happy New Year! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Bonne année ! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! 新年快樂！新年快乐！ Felice anno nuovo! 新年おめでとうございます! Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit! Bliadhna mhath ùr! Blein Vie Noa! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Feliĉan novan jaron! Поздравляю с Новым Годом! Šťastný nový rok! Godt nytår! Gott nytt år! La Mulți Ani! Onnellista uutta vuotta! 🎆🎉🥂🥳

Swords & Spades

19 December 2024 By Simon

What links the word epee (a type of sword) with the word spade? Let’s find out.

An epee / épée is a sharp-pointed duelling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing (pictured above).

The word comes from French épée (sword, glaive), from Middle French espee (sword), from Old French espee (sword), from Latin spatha (spatula, spattle, a long two-edged, straight sword typically carried by Roman cavalry officers, batten, a kind of tree), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē – any broad blade, of wood or metal), from Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā (blade), from Proto-Indo-European *sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂, from *(s)peh₂- (to draw) + *dʰeh₁- (to do, put) + *-eh₂ (a feminine ending) [source].

The Proto-Germanic word spadô (spade) comes from the same PIE roots, and from that we get words like spade in English, spade (spade) in Dutch, Spaten (spade, idiot) in German, spade (shovel, spade) in Swedish, and spaði (a small shovel, spade, paddle, racket) in Icelandic [source].

The Greek word σπαθί (sword, club [in cards]) comes from the same Ancient Greek root, as does the Bulgarian word спатия (spatíja – suit of clubs), which was borrowed from Greek [source].

Other words from the same Latin root (spatha) include spatula in English, épaule (shoulder) and spatule (spatula, spoonbill) in French, spada (sword, epee) in Italian, espasa (sword, epee) in Catalan, espada (sword, epee) and espalda (back, backstroke) in Spanish, and ezpata (sword) in Basque. The words for sword all refer to the suit of clubs in cards in the plural [source].

Feeling Whelmed

11 December 202411 December 2024 By Simon

You can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed?

Overwhelmed comes from the verb to overwhelm, which means to engulf, surge over, submerge, overpower (emotionally), crush, cause to surround or to cover. So when you feel overwhelmed, you might feel crushed, overpowered or engulfed by everything [source].

Underwhelmed comes from to underwhelm, which means to fail to impress or perform disappointingly. It was coined in the 1950s as a humorous negation of overwhelm. I hope you won’t be too underwhelmed by this blog post. [source].

Both to overwhelm and to underwhelm come from to whelm, an old word that means to bury, cover, engulf, submerge, ruin, destroy or overcome with emotion. As a noun, whelm means a surge of water or a wooden drainpipe. They come from Middle English whelmen (to turn over, capsize, invert, turn upside down), perhaps from Old English *hwealmnian, a variant of *hwealfnian, from hwealf (arched, concave, vaulted), from Proto-West Germanic *hwalb, from Proto-Germanic *hwalbą (arch, vault), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelp- (to curve) [source].

Related words include unwhelm (to raise (sb) up from under something that has overwhelmed them), and whelming (something that covers or submerges).

Words from the same roots include gulf in English, Walm (bevelled roof, particularly if triangular and in a gable) in German, welven (to arch, bend like an arch, be shaped like an arch) in Dutch, valv (vault, arch) in Swedish, and cupla (fault, guilt, blame) in Spanish [source].

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].

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