Category: Words and phrases

Essuie-tout

By Simon

Essuie-tout [e.sɥi.tu] is what you might call paper towels in French. It literally means “wipe-all”, and comes from essuyer (to wipe, wipe down, soak up) and tout (whole, entirely, total, all) [source].

kitchen roll

Essuyer comes from the Old French essuier (to wipe), from the Latin exsūcāre from exsūcō (I juice, I dry), from ex- (out, away) and sūcus (juice, moisture) [source].

Such towels are also known as sopalin [sɔ.pa.lɛ̃] in French, which is a genericized trademark that was first registered in 1948 by the Société du papier linge (Linen Paper Company) and comes from the first syllables of the company name [source].

In English they are also known as kitchen towels, kitchen roll or kitchen paper. There may be other names for them as well. What do you call them?

Essuie also appears in essuie-glace (windscreen wiper), and essuie-mains (hand towel). Related words include; essuyer (to wipe, rub away, swab, suffer, experience), s’essuyer (to dry o.s.), ressuyer (to dry, dry out) [source].

You can essuyer une défaite (suffer a defeat), essuyer une rebuffade (suffer a rebuff), essuyer le feu (come under a fire), essuyer un refus (get a refusal), essuyer un revers (suffer a setback) or even essuyer la vaisselle (dry the dishes) [source].

Kenning

By Simon

If something is beyond your ken, it is beyond your knowledge or understanding. The word ken only really appears in this phrase, but in some dialects of English in northern England, and in Scots and Scottish English, ken is more commonly used.

Ken

In English ken means to know, perceive, understand; knowledge, perception or sight. It comes from the Middle English kennen (to make known, tell, teach, proclaim, annouce, reveal), from the Old English cennan (to make known, declare, acknowledge), from cunnan (to become acquainted with, to know), from the Proto-West Germanic *kannijan (to know, to be aware of), from the Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (to make known), from *kunnaną (to be able), from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥néh₃ti (to know, recognize) from *ǵneh₃- (to know) [source].

Some related words include:

  • beken = to make known, reveal, deliver, commit
  • foreken = to perceive, realise ahead of time, foreknow, preconceive
  • kenning = sight, view, a distant view at sea; range r extent of vision (esp. at sea), a small portion, as little as one can discrimminate or recognize
  • misken = to mistake one for another, fail to know, misunderstand, ignore, disregard, neglect
  • outken = to surpass or exceed in knowledge

These are no longer used, rarely used, or only used in some dialects of English.

Kenning also means “A metaphorical compound or phrase, used especially in Germanic poetry (Old English or Old Norse) whereby a simple thing is described in an allusive way.” It was borrowed from Old Norse [source].

Some examples of kenning in Old Norse and Old English include:

  • báru fákr (wave’s horse) = ship
  • gjálfr-marr (sea-steed) = ship
  • heofon-candel (sky-candle) = sun
  • grennir gunn-más (feeder of ravens) = warrior
  • winter-ġewǣde (winter-raiment) = snow
  • hilde-leoma (battle light) = sword
  • seġl-rād (sail-road) = sea
  • hwæl-weġ (whale-way) = sea
  • heofon-candel (sky-candle) = sun
  • ban-hus (bone-house) = body

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenning, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kennings, https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cb45/kennings

There are cognates in other Germanic languages, including:

  • ken = to know (a person, a thing), be acquainted with in Afrikaans
  • kende = to know (be acquainted or familiar with) in Danish
  • kjenne = to know (be acquainted or familiar with), to feel or sense in Norwegian
  • känna = to feel or sense, or to know (a person) in Swedish
  • kennen = to know (a thing), be acquainted with in Dutch
  • kennen = to know, be acquainted with, be familiar with in German

In Scots ken means “To know, be aware of, apprehend, learn (a fact)”, and comes from the same roots as the English word [source]. Some related words include:

  • ken(n)ing = imparting, teaching, recognition, indentification, knowing
  • kenable = obvious, easily recognisable
  • kenmark = a distinguishing mark, mark of owenership on an animal, brand
  • kennage = knowledge, information
  • kenspeckle = easily recognisable, conspicuous, of familiar appearance

Tatami Swimming

By Simon

If a Japanese person compared something to practising swimming on a tatmi mat, what would you think they meant?

畳

The idiomatic expression 畳の上の水練 (tatami no ue no suiren) means literally “swimming practise on tatami”, and refers to “useless book learning; knowing the theory but being unable to put it into practice”. It is also written 畳水練 (tatami suiren) .

Other tatami-related idioms include:

  • 畳の上で死ぬ (tatmi no ue de shinu) = to die a natural death, to die in one’s own bed​ (“to die on tatami”)
  • 畳み掛ける (tatmi o kakeru) = to press for an answer, to shower questions on someone​ (“to hang up tatami”)

The character 畳 (tatami / jō) refers to the traditional Japanese straw floor coverings​, also known as tatami or tatami mats. The area of rooms in Japanese houses is measured by the number of tatami they contain or could contain. One tatami is 1.82 sqm or 1.54 sqm. An older version of the character is 疊. The same character means folding paper-case or kimono wrapping paper when pronounced tatō.

The verb 畳む (tatamu) means to fold (clothes, umbrellas, etc), to close (a shop or business) or to vacate. 畳み地図 (tatami chizu) is a folding map, 畳みじわ (tatamijiwa) is a crease, and 畳み椅子 (tatami isu) is a folding chair.

Source: jisho.org

Wurbling Wurblers

By Simon

Wurble is a wonderful word that I learnt today. What do you think it means?

  1. to warble words in a waffly kind of way
  2. to wriggle like a worm
  3. to talk or sing with water in your mouth

Annelid
A wurble wurbling

Wurble [wʌrbl] is a Scots words that means:

1. To move forward in a twisting, sinuous manner like a worm, to wriggle, crawl; to walk with a knock-kneed gait.
2. To work hard, esp. on some finicky tedious job, to strive, struggle, contend with difficulties.
3. To join two threads by twisting and rubbing the ends together; to patch up a quarrel [source].

Wurble is also written warble or wirble. Related words are wurbler (worm), and wurdle, which means “to work hard with little prospect of success” [source]. As far as I know, the word game, Wordle has no connection to wurdle or wurble.

The English word warble [ˈwɔɹbl̩ / ˈwɔːbl̩] is not related to wurdle or wurble. It means to sing like a bird, to cause to quaver or vibrate, to modulate a tone’s frequency, to be modulated or to be uttered melodiously [source].

Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Warble comes from the Old North French werbler (to sing with trills and quavers, from the Frankish *werbilon, possibly from the Proto-Germanic *hwirbilaz (circle, ring, whirl) [source].

Distreetly Discrete

By Simon

The words discrete and discreet are both pronounced in the same way – [dɪsˈkɹiːt] – but have different meanings, or in other words, are homophones. Until yesterday, I didn’t realise that they were discrete words.

Discretely Discreet

discrete means

1. apart or detached from others; separate; distinct
2. consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous. [source]

It also has specific meanings in mathematics that I won’t go into here.

discreet means

1. judicious in one’s conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect.
2. showing prudence and circumspection; decorous
3. modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious [source]

discrete comes from the Old French discret (different), from the Latin discrētus (separate, differentiated), from discernō (I separate, set apart, divide, part), from dis- (asunder, in pieces, apart, in two) and cernō (I distinguish, divide, separate), from the Proto-Italic *krinō, from the Proto-Indo-European *krey- (to sieve) [source].

discreet comes from the same source, via the Middle English word discrete, which meant wise, morally discerning, prudent, polite, and also separate or distinct [source]. The two words separated during the Middle English period and acquired discrete meanings [source].

The word discern (to detect with the senses, perceive, distinguish) comes from the same roots [source].

Indiscrete and indiscreet are also discrete words. The former means not divided into discrete parts, while the latter means lacking prudence, revealing secrets, or tactless [source].

They both come from the Latin indiscretus (unseparated, undivided, indistinguisable), from in- (un-, non-, not) and discrētus (see above) [source].

So let’s not be indiscreet about discreetly keeping these words discrete.

Pseudonyms

By Simon

A pseudonym [ˈs(j)uː.də(ʊ).nɪm / ˈsu.də.nɪm] is a false or fictitious name, especially one used by an author. It comes from the Ancient Greek words ψευδής [pseu̯.dɛ̌ːs] (false, lying, untrue) and ὄνυμα [ó.ny.ma] (name) [source].

Pseudonym

Hyponyms* include:

  • stage name (used by actors)
  • pen name, pen-name, nom de plume (used by writers)
  • nom de guerre (used by military types)
  • allonym = another person’s actual name adopted as a pseudonym

* a term that denotes a subcategory of a more general class [source].

Related words include:

  • ananym = a pseudonym derived by spelling one’s name backwards
  • anonym = an anonymous person, or an assumed or false name
  • cryptonym = a secret name, or code name

An antonym of pseudonym is alethonym, which is the true name of an individual. From the Ancient Greek ἀλήθεια [aˈli.θi.a] (truth) and ὄνυμα [source].

I was inspired to write about pseudonyms today after seeing this joke on Facebook:

I used to go out with a girl called Sue Denim, until I found out that it wasn’t her real name.

It took me a while to get the joke, as I actually know someone called Sue Denim, a singer-songwriter who was part of the band Robots in Disguise. I always thought it was her real name, but now I realise that it’s actually an onomatopoeic pseudonym.

Do you have a pseudonym / nom de plume / stage name? If not, what pseudonym might you use?

I suppose the usernames I use online are kind of pseudonyms: Omniglot, Omniglossia and Ieithgi. Some variations of my name that I use, or friends use, include Sai, Simi and Saimundo.

Antidry

By Simon

Recently I came across the French word antisèche [ɑ̃.ti.sɛʃ]. At first glance I would guess that it meant something like “anti-dry”, so maybe it’s a moisturiser or something similar that prevents dryness.

While that would be an accurate literal translation – it comes from anti- and sécher (to dry) – what it actually means is a cheat sheet or crib sheet. That is, a sheet of paper used to assist on a test [source].

antiseche

As well as meaning to dry, sécher also means to skip or miss (class), to dry out, to wither, to dry up or to be stumped. So an antisèche is something that prevents you from being stumped or drying up when asked difficult questions [source].

I have a number of antisèches, or maybe they’re more feuilles de référence, that summerise grammatical information for Irish and Russian. They’re very handy when I’m trying to write anything in these languages. You can find a variety of these for languages and other subjects on Amazon.

Are there interesting names for such things in other languages?

Short on

By Simon

Have a look at the English sentences below and see if anything stands out for you.

This comes from the Japanese course on Duolingo, by the way.

For me, the use of short on in these contexts seems odd. I would use short of here. When I saw this, I wondered if this is a difference between British English and American English – the English on Duolingo is generally American English.

I’ve noticed other subtle differences in the ways prepositions and other words like articles are used as well. For example, would you say I’m on the beach or I’m at the beach?

One Japanese way to say you’re short of/on something is 不足している (fusoku shite iru). 不足 (fusoku) on it’s own means insufficiency, deficiency, shortage, lack, scarcity, deficit, dissatisfaction, discontent or complaint​. It appears in such expressions as:

  • 不足分 (fusokubun) = shortage, amount outstanding (on a loan), deficit
  • 不足前 (tarazumae) = deficit, shortage
  • 不足勝 (fusokugachi) = needy circumstances
  • 不足を言う (fusoku o iu) = to complain, express one’s dissatisfaction

不 (fu / bu) on it’s own means negative, non-, bad, ugly, clumsy, 足 (ashi) means foot, paw, arm, leg, gait or pace, and 足 (soku) it is used as a counter for pairs of footwear. The verb 足りる (tariru) means to be sufficient or enough, and 足る (taru) means to be sufficient or enough, to be worth doing, to deserve, serve or answer. If you don’t have quite enough of something, you could use the word 足らず (tarasu). It means just under, a little less than or just short of.

Source: jisho.org

Pepper and Salt

By Simon

There are some pairs of words that often go together, and usually in a particular order. For example, the title of this post, Pepper and Salt, might seem a bit strange to native English speakers, as we usually say salt and pepper. There are many ideas about why we do this, but it might just be an old habit that developed over time.

pepper en zout

To Dutch speakers zout en peper (salt and pepper) would sound strange, as they usually say peper en zout (pepper and salt). Are there any other languages that do this?

The linguistic term for such pairs of words is binomials, and pairs of words that always, or almost always, appear in the same order are known as frozen binomials.

Some ideas about why these words are ordered in this way include:

  • More powerful and important words go first: kings and queens, boys and girls, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, mum and dad, granny and grandpa, mother and child, ladies and gentlemen, cat and mouse, bread and jam, fish and chips
  • General words go first: rules and regulations, terms and conditions
  • Marked words go first: horse and carriage, trial and error, friend and foe (concrete before abstract, living before nonliving, positive before less positive, etc)

Pairs of words that always go together in a particular order and have a collective meaning in addition to their individual meanings are known as irreversible binomials.

Examples include: rock and roll, and legal terms like law and order, (last) will and testament and:

  • goods and chattels = any property that is not freehold, usually limited to include only moveable property
  • kith and kin = one’s acquaintances and relatives – kith (friends and acquaintances) only appears in this context
  • aid and abet = to assist another in the commission of a crime by words or conduct.
  • let or hindrance = having no impediment or obstacle to progression

Are there any language in which black and white is usually white and black, or other common pairs are reversed compared to English?

More about binomials
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/frozen-binomials-why-do-we-cringe-at-pepper-and-salt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_binomial
https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/irreversible-binomials-definition-types-with-examples
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_doublet

Moose

By Simon

Yesterday I added a page about the Moose Cree language to Omniglot. Moose Cree (ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐧᐃᓐ / ililîmowin) is a Central Algonquin language spoken mainly in the town of Moose Factory on Moose Factory Island on the Moose River in Ontario, Canada. That’s a lot of moose, or is it mooses, moosen or even meese? (see below)

Moose

A moose is:

“a ruminant mammal (Alces alces) with humped shoulders, long legs, and broadly palmated antlers that is the largest existing member of the deer family and inhabits forested areas of Canada, the northern U.S., Europe, and Asia” [source]

A moose can also be “a member of a major benevolent and fraternal order [Loyal Order of Moose]”.

The word moose was discussed in a previous post, along with the word elk and related words.

Today I thought I’d look into moose-related words in more detail.

Moose was first used in writing in English in 1603, and is thought to come from an Eastern Algonquian language such as Massachusett (moos), Narragansett (moos) or Penobscot (mos), from the Proto-Algonquian *môswa (it strips), referring to how a moose strips tree bark when feeding [source].

The standard plural of moose is moose, although mooses and meese are also used informally. I think a good alternative plural would be moosen, like oxen, children and aurochsen. What do you think?

In Moose Cree there are quite a few words moose-related words, including:

  • ᒨᓱ / môso = moose; human prey (in traditional stories about cannibals)
  • ᓈᐯ ᒨᓱ / nâpe-môso = a male moose
  • ᐊᔮᐯᐤ / ayâpew = a (fully grown) buck, bull
  • ᓅᓭ ᒨᓱ / nôse-môso = a female moose
  • ᒨᔓᔑᔥ / môšošiš = a moose calf
  • ᐱᐳᓈᔅᑯᔥ / piponâskoš = a one-year-old moose or caribou
  • ᒨᒨᓶᐤ / mômôswew = s/he eats moose

Source: The Dictionary of Moose Cree

There are also plenty of moose-related words in Plains Cree:

  • ᒨᓴᐧ / môswa = moose
  • ᔮᐯᐤ / yâpew = bull moose
  • ᒥᐢᑎᔮᐯᐤ / mistiyâpew = a big bull moose
  • ᔨᑭᐦᒐᐊᐧᓭᐢ / yikihcawases = a one-year-old bull moose
  • ᐊᐧᐢᑫᐤᒉᓭᐢ / waskewceses = a two-year-old bull moose
  • ᐅᑭᓄᒪᐧᒐᔦᓭᐢ / okinomwacayeses = a three-year-old bull moose
  • ᐅᓃᒐᓂᐤᒨᓴᐧ / onîcaniwmôswa = a female moose
  • ᓅᓭᐢ / nôses = a mother moose with one calf
  • ᐅᓃᓴᐧᐢᑯᒣᐤ / onîswaskomew = a mother moose with two calves
  • ᐅᐢᑳᔨᐢ / oskâyis = a young/baby moose

Source: Online Cree Dictionary

While there are pages about Massachusett (Wôpanâôtuwâôk) and Narragansett (Nãikanset) on Omniglot, there isn’t one about Penobscot (Pαnawάhpskewi), which is a variety of Eastern Abenaki that was spoken mainly in Maine in the USA until the 1990s, and which is currently being revived. I’ll be adding details soon.

There is an online Penobscot Dictionary which includes quite a few moose-related words.

Update: there is now a page about Penobscot on Omniglot.