Villainous Sharks

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.

shark

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].

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Little Dishes

Is the word plateau related to plate, platypus, plaza, pizza, place, flat and fold? Or is one of these words an odd one out? Let’s investigate.

Vercors

Plateau [ˈplætəʊ / plæˈtoʊ] means:

  • A largely level expanse of land at a high elevation; tableland.
  • A comparatively stable level after a period of increase.
  • A notable level of attainment or achievement.
  • To reach a stable level after a period of increase; to level off.

It comes from French plateau (flat area, tray, plateau, stage, (TV) set, chain-ring), from plat (flat, flat area of ground, flat thing, a dish or course) [source] and the diminutive ending -eau, which can also be added to words like éléphant and zèbre to make éléphanteau (a young [male] elephant, calf) and zébreau (young zebra) [source].

Plat comes from Middle French plat (flat), from Old French plat (flat, a footbridge), from Vulgar Latin *plattus (flattened), from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús – broad, flat), from Proto-Hellenic *plətús, from Proto-Indo-European *pléth₂us (flat, broad), from *pleth₂- (to spread, to extend, flat) [source].

Plate, platypus, plaza, place, flat and fold all probably come from the same roots, as do pit(t)a (bread), piazza, flan, field, plantain, and the name Plato [source].

The odd one out is pizza, which was borrowed from Neapolitan pizza, which comes from Byzantine Greek πίτα (píta – cake, pie), the origins of which are uncertain. Words from the same roots include пита (pita – round loaf, cake, pie, honeycomb) in Bulgarian, pită (bread, sustenance) in Romanian, pite (pie, tart) in Hungarian, and pide (traditional Turkish flatbread, Turkish pizza) in Turkish [source].

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Hydraulic Plumbers

A lot of the words in Italian are similar to words in Spanish, French or other Romance languages I know, but quite often I come across a word that doesn’t seem familiar at all. For example, idraulico (plumber) – a bit different from plombier in French, plomero in Spanish.

Idraulico Livorno

Idraulico [iˈdraw.li.ko] means plumber, plumbing or hydraulic in Italian. It comes from Latin hydraulicus, from Ancient Greek ὑδραυλικός (hudraulikós – of a water organ), from ὕδραυλις (húdraulis – water organ), from ὕδωρ (húdōr – water) and‎ αὐλός (aulós – pipe) [source].

Words from the same roots include hydraulic, hydrate and hydrofoil in English, hydraulique (hydraulic) in French, and υδραυλικός (ydravlikós – plumber, hydraulic engineer, hydraulic) in Greek, hydraulik (plumber) in Polish [source].

The French word plombier (plumber, plumbing), the Spanish word plomero (plumber, plumbing), and the English words plumber and plumbing, all come from Latin plumbārius (plumber, of or pertaining to lead), from plumbum (lead [metal], pipe of lead), possibly from Ancient Greek μόλυβδος (mólubdos – lead), or from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom (lead) [source].

Related words from the same roots include piombo (lead, grey, bullet), piombino ([lead] seal, sinker [weight], plummet) in Italian, plomb (lead [metal], fuse, sinker [fishing weight]) in French, Plombe (seal, lead seal [dental] filling) in German, and plwm (lead, leaden) in Welsh [source].

The Spanish word plomero is used for plumber in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Uruguay. Other Spanish words for plumber include: fontanero in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, gásfiter in Chile, gasfitero in Ecuador and Peru, and tubero in the Philippines [source].

Are there interesting words for plumber in other languages?

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Pasting Meals

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

ristorante italiano in NYC

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

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?

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Satorial Tailoring

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

PenHaligon's Sartorial

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! 🎆🎉🥂🥳

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Swords & Spades

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

Tarheel Cup Epee Team Event 2011

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].

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Feeling Whelmed

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

Overwhelmed

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].

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Paper Cards

The word carta means paper in Italian, but letter in Spanish. It has other meanings, and this post finds out more.

Carte

Carta [ˈkar.ta] in Italian means such things as:

  • paper or charter, e.g. un foglio di carta (a sheet of paper), carta igienica (toilet paper), carta da lettere (writing paper), carta da regalo (wrapping paper), carta lucida (tracing paper), carta da parati (wallpaper)
  • papers / documents (in the plural – carte)
  • card, e.g. carta di credito (credit card), carta d’indentità (identity card), dare le carte (to deal the cards), mettere le carte in tavola (to lay one’s cards on the table)
  • menu / list, e.g. alla carta (à la carte), carta dei vini (wine list)
  • map, e.g. carta geografica (map), carta automobilistica / stradale (road map), [source].

Carta [ˈkaɾta] in Spanish can mean:

  • letter, e.g. carta de amor (love letter), carta adjunta (covering letter), carta de dimisión (letter of resignation), carta de presentación (letter of introduction)
  • card(s), e.g. una baraja de cartas (a pack of cards), jugar a las cartas (to play cards)
  • map / chart / plan, e.g. carta acotada (contour map), carta astral (star chart), carta meteorológica (weather chart/map), carta de navegación (flight plan)
  • menu / list, e.g. a la carta (à la carte), carta de vinos (wine list) [source].

It has similar meanings in the other Romance languages, and comes from Latin charta (papyrus, paper, a piece of writing, letter, poem. charter) from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs – paper, book), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (to scratch) [source].

Words from the same roots include card, chart and charter in English, hartă (map), hârtie (paper), cartă (charter) and carte (book, card) in Romanian, Karte (card, map, chart, menu, ticket) in German, כַּרְטִיס (kartís – card, ticket) in Hebrew, ქარტეზი (karṭezi – certificate) in Georgian, and քարտ (kʻart – [playing] card) in Armenian [source].

Incidentally, another word for card in Spanish is tarjeta [taɾˈxeta], as in tarjeta de crédito (credit card). It is a diminutive of tarja [ˈtaɾxa] (tally [stick], plaque, plate, shield), which comes from French targe [taʁʒ] (targe [a small shield], buckler [a kind of shield]), from Middle French targe (round shield, targe), from Old French targe (buckler), from Frankish *targa (buckler), probably from Old Norse targa (small round shield), from Proto-Germanic *targǭ (edge), from Proto-Indo-European *derǵʰ- (fenced lot) or *dergʰ- (to catch, grasp) [source].

Related words in other languages include targe and target in English, Zarge (frame, border) in German, targhetta (label, tag, sticker, name plate) in Italian, and tarcza (shielf, target, clock face) in Polish [source].

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Paved Floors

The Italian word pavimento looks like the English word pavement, but actually means floor. Let’s find out more.

Regarde où tu marches !

Pavimento [pa.viˈmen.to] comes from Latin pavīmentum (a floor composed of small stones beaten down) from paviō (to beat, strike, ram, tread down), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (to strike, hit) [source].

Related words in Latin include pavīmentārius (floor-maker, who makes the tiled ground), pavīmentō (to pave) and pavīcula (a rammer) [source].

Related words in Italian include pavimentare (to floor, to pave) and pavimentazione (flooring, paving).

Words from the same Latin / PIE roots in other languages include paviment (flooring, pavement) in Catalan, pavement and to pave in English, palmant (pavement) in Welsh, pavement (paving, tiled floor) and paver (to cobble, pave [Canada]) in French, pământ (earth, ground, land) in Romanian, pavimento (road surface, paving) in Spanish, and pļaut (to mow, reap, shoot intensively) in Latvian [source].

Amlwch

The English word pavement can refer to:

  • A paved surface; a hard covering on the ground.
  • A paved path, for the use of pedestrians, located at the side of a road (mainly in the UK, Ireland and South Africa) – known as a sidewalk in North America, a banquette in Louisiana and Texas in the USA, and as a footpath in Australia, New Zealand and India
  • A paving (paved part) of a road or other thoroughfare; the roadway or road surface. (mainly in North America)
  • The paved part of an area other than a road or sidewalk, such as a cobblestone plaza, asphalt schoolyard or playground, or parking lot. (mainly in North America)
  • The interior flooring of a church sanctuary, between the communion rail and the altar. [source].

Pavements / sidewalks have been around for a many thousands of years. There were pavements in Ancient Greece and Rome, for example, and the Romans called them sēmite (narrow way, footpath, path, pathway) [source], which comes from PIE *swé(d) (by oneself, away, without) + *mey- ((ex)change). Words from the same roots include senda (footpath) in Catalan, sente (footpath, track, trail) in French, and senda (footpath) in Spanish [source].

Are there other words for pavement / sidewalk in English?

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Kaput Capes

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

KAPUTT

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].

Beach next to Cape of good hope

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 I...Down The Rabbit Hole

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].

Happy Truck Day!

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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