Group items tagged

some unusually interesting etymologies

online Japanese etymology

A comprehensive, illustrated dictionary with etymologies, pictographs & definitions in English, displaying also Hiragana and Katakana, the Kana used in Nihongo

This webpage, associated with a 2005 PBS 3-hour program of the same name, addresses several Words R Us Related issues, including African American English, perspectives on written & spoken English, regional dialects, Spanish & Chicano English, communicative choices & linguistic style, prescriptionist vs. descriptionist philosophies towards language, etymology, and slang. It also has hyperlinks to various credible academic sources for applied linguistics.

Has an interactive tool that shows languages contributing to English in fifty year increments, beginning in 1150AD to the present.

freshman etymology course

Essayist Ligaya Mishan (one of my best friends from Punahou!) examines "cancel culture"--the practice of publicly ostracizing a person, whether it's professionally, personally, or in the digital/social media world--historically contextualizing the phenomenon, which is not recent, but something that has existed in many cultures, past and present, and examining the reasons behind it. This essay is also a Words R Us special in its use of etymology: examining the origins and evolution of different words related to cancel culture.

The etymology of some words. Amazing how things have changed.

Interesting article. There may be, however, counter-explanations for this combined phrase. Hip was cited by Samuel Johnson in the mid-1700s as a variant of the Latin phrase "eho, heus": an exclamation calling for attention (_The Nature of Roman Comedy_, Duckworth 1994). And hooray, according to the OED, is a variation of hurrah (int. and n.), a word used as early as 1716, a century before the anti-Semitic forces took it up as a rallying cry. Have snipped the following definitions from the OED: Word #1. Hip (int.): hip, int. (and n.4) 1. 'An exclamation or calling to one; the same as the Latin eho, heus!' (Johnson). 1752 in Ainsworth's Thes. Linguæ Latinæ (ed. 4) 1768-74 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1852) I. 34 Perhaps Dr. Hartley‥may give me a hip, and call out, 'Prithee, friend, do not think to slip so easily by me'. 2. An exclamation used (usually repeated thrice) to introduce a united cheer: hence as n. 1827 W. Hone Every-day Bk. 12 To toss off the glass, and huzza after the 'hip! hip! hip!' of the toast giver. a1845 T. Hood Sniffing a Birthday xiv, No flummery then from flowery lips, No three times three and hip-hip-hips! 1849 Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xvii. 154 'Here's Mrs. Smirke's good health: Hip, hip, hurray!' hip-hurrah v. (also hip-hip-hurrah) 1832 Examiner 609/2 One set of men 'hip hurrah' and rattle decanter stoppers. 1871 T. Carlyle in Lett. & Memorials J. W. Carlyle (1883) I. 116 In the course of the installation dinner, at some high point of the hep-hep hurrahing. Word #2: Hurrah: Pronunciation: /hʊˈrɑː/ /həˈrɑː/ /hʊˈreɪ/ /həˈreɪ/ Forms: Also 16- hurra, 17 hurrea, whurra, 18 hooray, ( hooroar), hourra. Etymology: A later substitute for huzza v. (not in Johnson, Ash, Walker; in Todd 1818), perhaps merely due to onomatopoeic modification, but possibly influenced by some foreign shouts: compare Swedish, Danish, Low German

This special series, part of NPR's "Code Switch" blog examines the etymology and fascinating history of many words used in pop culture. Recent entries include gypped, hipster, zombie, thug, hoodlum, boondocks, coolie, and racism.

Article was shared by my friend and colleague, Yunus Peer. The etymology of why we call groups of animals a particular noun truly derives from humans' instinctive nature to categorize and compartmentalize identifiers in their brain. For this reason, collective nouns were created to describe particular animal groups. That way, even without the identifying noun of the animal itself, when referring to collective nouns like a shrewdness roaming the jungle, one can safely assume the speaker is talking about a group of apes.

According to Timothy Rasinski, a literacy education professor at Kent State, teaching young students about morphology (the study of word forms) and word patterns improves their ability to gain meaning from unfamiliar words, which helps with reading overall.

Article comprehensively covers many English terms referring to overconsumption of alcohol, and the origins of those words/phrases.

Linguist Lounge: what we do

Article discusses the Manti Te'o catfishing incident in historical context, examining the origin of the term "catfish", as well as other lexical terms that've been used to describe the duplicitous mind-games people play.