{"id":3348,"date":"2024-05-04T15:46:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T15:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3348"},"modified":"2024-05-04T16:10:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T16:10:38","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-dinkus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3348","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Dinkus"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Dinkus\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2024-05-04T15:46:46+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M18S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what the dickens a dinkus is, and what to do with an asterism.\n\n\n\nA dinkus is:\n\n\nA small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.\nA small ornament, usually a line of three asterisk...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5228\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3348-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3348-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"dinkus.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what the dickens a <strong>dinkus<\/strong> is, and what to do with an <strong>asterism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/blog\/dinkus.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Dinkus\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>dinkus<\/strong> is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.<\/li>\n<li>A small ornament, usually a line of three asterisks (* * *), especially for the purpose of breaking up sections of a chapter, article, or other text<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align:center;\">\u204e\u204e\u204e<\/div>\n<p>It comes from German <em>Ding<\/em> (thing), from Old High German <em>thing<\/em> [\u00f0in\u0261] (thing, object, matter, case), from Proto-West Germanic <em>*\u00feing<\/em> (court session, lawsuit, affair, matter, thing, object), from Proto-Germanic <em>*\u00feing\u0105<\/em> (date, appointment, meeting, assembly, matter, issue) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/dinkus\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>thing<\/strong> in English, <strong>ding<\/strong> (matter, thing) in Dutch, <strong>\u00feing<\/strong> [\u03b8i\u014bk] (assembly, meeting, council, parliament) in Icelandic, and <strong>ting<\/strong> (thing, court of law, legislative assembly) in Swedish [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-West_Germanic\/%C3%BEing\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dinkus<\/strong> should not be confused with <strong>dingus<\/strong>, which can refer to something whose name you&#8217;ve forgot, i.e. a <strong>thingamajig<\/strong>, <strong>whatchamacallit<\/strong>, etc in North American and South African. In the USA and Canada it can also refer to a foolish, incompetent, or silly person [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/dingus\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dingus<\/strong> was possibly borrowed from Dutch and\/or Afrikaans <strong>dinges<\/strong> (thingamajig, whatshisname) and <strong>ding<\/strong> (thing).<\/p>\n<p>An <strong>asterism<\/strong> is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A rarely used typographical symbol (\u2042, three asterisks arranged in a triangle), used to call attention to a passage or to separate subchapters in a book (like a dinkus).<\/li>\n<li>An unofficial constellation (small group of stars that forms a visible pattern).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align:center;\">\u2042<\/div>\n<p>It comes from Ancient Greek <em>\u1f00\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2<\/em> [\u02c8\u00e6s.t\u0259\u02cc\u0279\u026az.\u0259m] (a group of stars), from <em>\u1f00\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1<\/em> [as\u02c8tir] (star, planet, illustrious person, starfish) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/asterism#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Asterism<\/strong> is also the name of a Japanese band:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hLTQskiCgoI?si=5VgJiLJlN_-w83Vp\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The word <strong>asterisk<\/strong> (*) comes from the same roots, via Late Latin <em>asteriscus<\/em> (small star<\/em> and Ancient Greek <em>\u1f00\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u1fd0\u0301\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2<\/em> [as.te\u02c8ris.kos] (small star) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/asterisk#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Two <strong>asterisks<\/strong> on top of each other (\u2051) are apparently used in texts to denote emphasis, comments, footnotes, corrections, or other similar annotations [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.htmlsymbols.xyz\/unicode\/U+2051\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/milst1\/5610325759\/in\/photolist-9xLoot-2hyrYF4-kCyN6P-fdZH5V-28UPKYu-gZnQYv-heobXV-7hkudd-bx9Qoi-7hkstb-7hgtA6-7hkq8q-7hgtZ2-2otqiNW-7hgqfi-9xQbvQ-9xMjke-2nfXiHi-9xMg8V-9xQeLq-9xQbTb-9xMeK4-9xQea9-9xQce7-9xQmHh-9xMe8D-9xQnjf-2mK8zum-2Z8ns-9xMgzi-9xMepv-9xQaJj-9xQmif-9xMffR-9xQhrq-9xQdSS-agmUQ3-agjaUk-agjaZD-2hn6UCu-agjaWg-2ofKxCK-bySjVW-bHVjFB-2hn1CMn-8ymiAa-QiqxuM-bHVksB-2hn4akr-bv1zJQ\" title=\"Parc Asterix\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/4105\/5610325759_6080d14d44_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Parc Asterix\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, <strong>Asterix<\/strong>, the Gaulish hero of the comic books by Ren\u00e9 Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, gets his name from the French word <em>ast\u00e9risque<\/em> (asterisk) combined with the Gaulish word <em>*r\u012bx<\/em> (king) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Asterix\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"<a href=\"https:\/\/podbay.fm\/p\/radio-omniglot\">Podbay<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">Podtail<\/a> and other pod places.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/my.kualo.com\/uk\/go\/00572\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.kualo.com\/rewards\/uk-unlimited-728x90.gif\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\"\nalt=\"Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Dinkus\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2024-05-04T15:46:46+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M18S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what the dickens a dinkus is, and what to do with an asterism.\n\n\n\nA dinkus is:\n\n\nA small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.\nA small ornament, usually a line of three asterisk...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5229\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3348-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3348-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/dinkus.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"dinkus.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we find out what the dickens a dinkus is, and what to do with an asterism. A dinkus is: A small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical. A small ornament, usually a line of three asterisks (* * *), especially for the purpose of breaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,42,97,47,20,56,23,24,29,4,50,1,57,119,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-afrikaans","category-ancient-greek-","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-german","category-icelandic","category-language","category-latin","category-podcast","category-proto-germanic","category-proto-west-germanic","category-swedish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3348"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3357,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3348\/revisions\/3357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}