Tag: language

Dusty Pillows

By Simon

What connects pillows to dust? Let’s find out.

Pillows

A pillow [ˈpɪ.ləʊ / ˈpɪ.loʊ] is a soft cushion used to support the head in bed, or any similar head support used for sleep, such as a neck pillow, and to pillow means to rest as on a pillow.

It comes from Middle English pilwe (a cushion, pillow, pad), from Old English pyle (pillow), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (pillow, cushion, bolster), from Latin pulvīnus (cusion, pillow, bolster, seat of honour) from pulvis (dust, powder, ashes, an arena, toil, effort), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (flour, dust) or *pelh₁- (chaff, to swing) [source].

Words from the same Latin roots include polvere (dust, powder) in Italian, pulver (powder) and peluw (a long, narrow pillow) in Dutch, Pulver (powder, money) in German, pulveri (powder) in Finnish, pavesa (spark) in Spanish, pylor (dust, powder) in Welsh, and poussière (dust, speck of dust) in French [source].

Words from the PIE root *pel- (flour, dust) include puches (porridge) in Spanish, poltiglia (mush, pulp, slime, slush, mire) in Italian, pył (dust) in Polish, and poultice, polenta, pollen and possibly spelt in English [source].

Words from the PIE root *pelh₁- (chaff) include полова (polova – chaff) in Russian, pleva (chaff) in Czech, paille (straw) in French, paja (straw) in Spanish, pagliaio (haystack) in Italian, pallet in English [source].

To me, pillows are the rectangular cushioned things you have on your bed. However, it seems that some people also use pillows for the square cushioned things you might have on a chair or sofa / couch. To me , they are cushions. How about you?

Incidentally, the word cushion comes from Middle English quysshyn, from later Old French coissin, from Vulgar Latin *coxīnus (seat pad), from Latin coxa (hip, thigh). The -īnus suffix on *coxīnus is possibly modelled on pulvīnus (pillow) [source].

Related words include coscia (thigh, leg) in Italian, cuisse (thigh, segment) in French, coxa (thigh) in Portuguese, coes (leg, shank) in Welsh, and cos (foot, leg) in Irish [source].




Birds of Ill Omen

By Simon

What links this bird with spells and charms? Let’s find out.

Wryneck (Jynx torquilla), Hisøy, planned "Raet National Park", South Coast of Norway

The bird pictured above is a jynx [dʒɪŋks], Eurasian wryneck or northern wryneck. It’s related to woodpeckers, and can be found across temperate regions of Europe and Asia during the summer, and in parts of tropical Africa and southern Asia in the winter.

It’s Latin name, Jynx torquilla comes from iynx (wryneck), from Ancient Greek ἴϋγξ (íünx – Eurasian wryneck, spell, charm, passionate yearing), and from Latin torqueō (to spin, whirl, twist, hurl, torment) [source].

It was once thought to be a bird of ill omen, perhaps because of how it twists its snake-like head and hisses as a threat display. As a result, it has sometimes been called the “snake-bird” [source].

Apparently wizards and witches used to tie wrynecks to a wheel and then whirl them round, believing that it would charm men into obedience and help to retreive unfaithful lovers [source].

The English word jinx [dʒɪŋks] comes from jynx the bird. As a noun, it means a hex, or an evil spell or a person or thing supposed to bring bad luck. As a verb, to jinx means to cast a spell on; to bring bad luck to; to cause something to happen by mentioning it, often used sarcastically; to cause a bad outcome through verbal expression of certainty about a good situation or result [source].

In order to mitigate the effects of a jinx, you might touch wood or knock on wood. This tradition apparently comes from ancient believes among Germanic peoples that trees influence fortune. Ancient Celtic peoples believed that touching wood would call on the spirits or gods of trees, and Christians connect(ed) the practise to the touching the wood of cross. There are similar traditions in many other places as well, apparently [source].

Do you ‘touch wood’ or ‘knock on wood’ to avoid ‘tempting fate’ after making a favourable prediction or boast, or to avoid jinxing something?

If not, do you have other traditions?




Monks, Monkeys & Coffee

By Simon

What links a New World monkey, a type of cloak, an order of friars and a type of coffee? Let’s find out.

Sons of Saint Francis

The word capuchin [ˈkæp.ə.tʃɪn] can refer to:

  • A monk of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a.k.a. a Franciscan.
  • A garment consisting of a cloak and hood, made in imitation of the dress of Capuchin monks.
  • A capuchin monkey.
  • A hooded pigeon.

It comes from French capuchin, from capucin (capuchin [monkey], Capuchin friar), from Italian cappuccino (Capuchin [friar], cappuccino [coffee]), from cappuccio (hood, cowl), a diminutive of cappuccio (hood, cowl, top, cabbage), a diminutive of cappa (coat, cloak, cowl, hood, cape, tarpaulin), from Late Latin cappa (cape, hooded cloak, cap), which possibly is related to caput (head) [source].

Related words include cap, cape, chapel, cope and escape in English, capa (clock, cape, cover) in Portuguese, cappello (hat) in Italian, czapka (cap) in Polish, and Kappe (cap, hood) in German [source].

cappuccino

The coffee gets its name from the friars, as it’s a similar shade of brown to their habits. The English word cappuccino comes from Italian cappuccino, which comes from Viennese German Kapuziner (Capuchin [friar]), an abbreviation of Kapuzinerkaffee / Capuzinerkaffee, a type of coffee that emerged in Vienna during the 18th century. The drink spread to northern Italy when it was under Austrian domination, and became known as cappuccino in Italian. The ingredients and the way the drink is made have changed over time [source].

Capuchin family

The monkeys are also named after the friars, as the Portuguese explorers who encountered them in the 15th century thought the colours of their fur made them look like little Capuchin friars [source].




Lightning Pastries

By Simon

What links a type of pastry with lightning, flashes and sparkles? Let’s find out.

eclairs

In English, and many other languages, an eclair / éclair is a small, chocolate-covered, creme-filled pastry puff in a general oblong shape [source].

Eclairs

The word comes from French éclair which can refer to the pastry, and also to lightning, a lightning bolt, a flash of lightning, a glint, flash, gleam or sparkle [source].

It is thought that the name of the pastry comes from the fact that it can be eaten quickly (in a flash), and/or because the glistening of the icing / frosting looks a bit like lightning. The éclair first appeared in Lyon in France in the 19th century, and was called pain à la Duchesse (“Duchess-style bread”) or petite duchesse (“little duchess”) until 1850. After that, the name éclair started to be used in French and in English [source].

The French word éclair comes from éclairer (to light up, brighten, shed light on enlighten, scout) from Old French esclairer (to light up), from Vulgar Latin *exclāriō, *exclāriāre, from Latin exclārāre, from ex- (out, away) and clārō (to brighten, lighten, illuminate, clarify) [source], from clārus (clear, bright, famous, upstanding, loud) from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (to call out to) [source].

Related words and expressions in French include:

  • éclair de génie = stroke of genius
  • fermeture éclair = zip (fastner), zipper
  • rapide comme l’éclair = quick as a flash
  • éclairé = well-lit, bright, illuminated, lit, knowledgable, well-informed, enlighted
  • éclairement = illumination
  • éclairant = illiminating, liminescent, clarifying, instructive
  • éclairage = lighting, illumination, perspective
  • éclairagiste = lighting specialist, lighting engineer, gaffer (chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production) [source].

Words from the PIE root *kelh₁- (to call out to) include acclaim, claim, clamour, clarify, clarinet, class, clear and council in English, klaar (ready, finished, done) in Dutch, exclamer (to exclaim, shout out) in French, coileach (cockerel, rooster) in Irish, hell (clear, bright, light, quick, clever) in German, and llamar (to summon, call, refer to, be called) in Spanish [source].




Rice

By Simon

One word I learnt recently in Swahili is wali, which means rice, or more specifically, cooked rice.

rice
Wali (cooked rice)

Wali means cooked rice or cooked grain in Swahili. Other words for rice include mpunga (rice plant, raw unhusked rice), mchele (dehusked, uncooked rice), ubwabwa (ground rice), and mashendea (husked rice) [source].

rice field
mpunga (rice plant, raw unhusked rice)

Wali comes from Malagasy vary (uncooked rice), from Proto-Malayic *bəras (rice) amd Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *pajay (rice plant) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Malayic root include beras (uncooked rice, any grain) in Malay and Indonesian, and berau (raw rice) in Iban [source].

Words from the same Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root include palay (rice plant) in Tagalog, fary (sugar cane) in Malagasy, hare ([uncooked] rice, rice plant) in Tetum and padi (rice plant, paddy, unhusked grain) in Malay and Indonesian [source].

The English word paddy also comes from the same roots via Malay. As well as referring to a paddy field or rice paddy (an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown), it can also mean rough or unhusked rice, either before it is milled or as a crop to be harvested [source].

Japanese also has different words for rice in different states, which include:

  • ご飯 (gohan) is cooked rice or a meal
  • 飯 (meshi) is cooked rice, meal, food, one’s living or livelihood, or steamed rice
  • ライス (raisu) is rice (especially when served on a plate)
  • 米 (kome) is husked grains of rice, or a staple (product) or necessity
  • 玄米 (genmai) is unpolised rice, unmilled rice or brown rice
  • 稲 (ine) is a rice plant [source].

As does (Mandarin) Chinese:

  • 饭 [飯] (​fàn) is cooked rice
  • 米饭 [米飯] (mǐ​fàn) is cooked rice
  • 白饭 [白飯] (bái​fàn) is plain cooked rice
  • 白米 (báimǐ) is polished rice
  • 大米 (dàmǐ) is husked rice
  • 米 (mǐ) is uncooked rice
  • 稻 (dào​) is rice growing in a field or a rice plant [source].

How about other languages?