1705: Solomon Islands and Africa Aug 15, 2019
It is commonly known Columbus thought the Caribbean to be India upon arrival but a less known false assumption was that the Spanish thought the Solomon Islands (officially just "Solomon Islands") to be the Biblical lands of Ophir, famous for its wealth. The riches were not there as people of other islands claimed, but the name stuck. This is not the first time a place has been thought to be Ophir, as has happened in South America, Asia, and Africa before, but this is most obvious with Africa as the name comes from the Romanized form of one Carthaginian tribe who lived in the wealthy area of what is now Tunisia, it is theorized that this is where Ophir really was. If this is true, it ultimately is believed to come from the native Phoenician for either 'dust' (afar) or more likely 'cave' (ifri).
1704: Biblical Translation Issues Aug 14, 2019
Read more like this here.
1703: dairy Aug 13, 2019
1702: babysitting Aug 12, 2019
It is not know where '-sit' in 'babysit' comes from, but what is known is that the word evolved in an atypical manner. The first recorded use of the phrase comes from the 1930's in the form of 'babysitter' with 'babysit' following a decade later. This is called backformation, and it may have occurred doubly, as 'babysitting' is documented at least a year before 'babysit' as well, though this could just be due to the means of data-collection, and not so indicative.
Either way, the '-sit' is thought to come from an older meaning of the word, some saying it relates to hens sitting on eggs, and others say it comes from the idea of someone sitting by a crib.
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1701: wink and blink Aug 11, 2019
Though they sound similar, 'wink' and 'blink' have totally different origins. For one thing, 'wink' used to mean what 'blink' does now. This changed over time in the Middle Ages in part due to 'wince', to which it is related, and other senses of the word meaning 'blink irregularly' or even 'to signal'. Blinking on the other hand, meant something more like 'twinkle; shine' and also related to grimacing in pain, being related to 'blench'. It only came to mean what it does after meaning "sharply or suddenly moving the eyelids", but this connection is pretty close.
See more about etymologies here: https://youtu.be/AviuxNIvdPM
1700: Gods in Cosmic Names (S.S.7) Aug 10, 2019
Over the last week, the posts have focused on naming things in our solar system. An obvious source is the Roman pantheon of gods, and while that may seem strange, looking at other cultures it is anything but. In languages ranging from Chinese to Hebrew to Nahuatl, rather than using the same words—even in scientific contexts as is often the case—different mythological systems will inspire naming the cosmos. Indeed, even in newer discoveries this happens. With 'Neptune', named for its blue color like the ocean and the Roman god thereof, it is 'Rahab' (רהב) in Hebrew named for a sea monster and 'Tlāloccītlalli' in Nahuatl after the Aztec rain-god. While these are newer, most cultures used mythology to inspire the names of these celestial bodies, and the two often related culturally as well. This concludes the week-long series, but you can can get them all together here.
1699: Men are from Mars and Women from Venus: Naming Conventions (S.S.6) Aug 9, 2019
There are many naming conventions for features of planets, such as siller ones mentioned yesterday, as well as more traditional ones. For instance, with few exceptions, all the features of Venus have feminine names, and all the features of Mars have masculine ones. There are at least 3 physical features named for male scientists on Venus, but even so most modern naming is feminine. This comes from the idea that Mars and Venus as gods represented the male and female forms, and any newer names are a nod to this.
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1698: Non-Roman Planetary Naming Conventions (S.S.5) Aug 8, 2019
All other planets in the solar system (and a few other bodies) are named for Roman gods, but modern naming conventions are a bit less grandiose. Lord of the Rings, for instance, has been the inspiration for the names of some of the features of Titan, a Saturnian moon, and authors who wrote about Mars were memorialized in the names of physical features on Deimos, a Martian moon, named for the god of terror to correspond with Mars, the god of war. There are numerous easter-eggs—informal and formal—like this in cosmic, and particularly galactic nomenclature, so if you know any more, feel free to leave a comment, though there will be more tomorrow about other, older traditions.
Read more from the last few days here.
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1697: planets (S.S.4) Aug 7, 2019
Pluto was demoted from being a planet in 2006, but this was not the first time something like that's happened. The word 'planet' was not terribly meaningful throughout much of history. Classically, both the Sun and the Moon were considered planets, part of the "seven classical planets". The word 'planet' comes from two Greek words, πλάνης (planēs) and πλανήτης (planētēs). The former meant 'planet' like we'd think now but also 'star', and they both meant 'wanderer', describing anything moving in the cosmos.
See more from the Solar System Series here.
1696: neptune (S.S.3) Aug 6, 2019
Again, of the two planets unknown (as planets) to the Romans, 'Neptune' still got a Roman name (see 'uranus' here). At first, it was just called "Le Verrier's planet" after the discoverer, but the English again pushed for Uranus to be called 'Herschel' after its discoverer, and these were used for a short time, until it was decided to keep tradition and name the planets after Roman mythology, so 'Neptune' was selected, as it is an icy, blue planet, and therefore named after the god of the ocean. Many other language's name for the planet come from their respective mythology around the ocean as well, from Chinese to Hebrew and even Nahuatl, rather than using the same word. There will be more on this tomorrow.
1695: uranus (S.S.2) Aug 5, 2019
All of the 6 planets known to the Romans were named for gods, but the fact that the rest are too was never a forgone conclusion. Uranus was the next to be considered a planet, though it was always known about even before telescopes. It was named because Uranus was the father of Saturn in Roman mythology, and Saturn is the planet before Uranus, though the name wasn't popular outside of Britain. The discoverer Herschel wanted to name it after King George III, calling it 'Georgium Sidus' (George's Star), though it was not a star, though this name was unpopular, and many called it 'Neptune' for some time, as a way to commemorate British naval victories. The last planet, 'Neptune', will be discussed tomorrow.
1694: Names of Roman Planets (S.S.1) Aug 4, 2019
All of the planets, except for Earth, in the solar system are named for Roman gods. The reasons for most of the names are fairly straightforward. Mercury, what appeared as the fastest planet, was named for the messenger god; Venus was named after the goddess of love—same as the Babylonians—because it is so bright; Mars, a red planet is from the god of war; and Jupiter, the biggest planet is from the king of the gods; Saturn was named for the god of agriculture because it was thought to be a sun. However, these were the only known planets in Roman times, and it was not always a done-deal that the rest of the planets would borrow the tradition. The rest of the planets will be discussed in the post tomorrow.
See more here regarding other celestial names
1693: Paper Making and 'watermarks' Aug 3, 2019
In Western Europe from the 12th-19th centuries (esp. the 14th-18th centuries) so-called 'laid paper' was the dominant form of paper-making. While most paper made today does not have this style, there are subtle traces in the language. Laid paper is made by placing a wired sieve in water mixed with linen-pulp, and then leaving it to dry. This would leave small lines across the paper that were thinner where the pulp fell on the sieve. Paper manufacturers would also put symbols on these sieves as a sort of stamp, and this mark was called a 'watermark' as it was made from the water evaporating off while the paper dried over it. The term is now used for other symbols used for protecting copyrights.
For another example of paper-making's effect on language, click here: 'Stationary' and 'Stationery'
1692: Ruthenian and Rusyn Aug 2, 2019
There were more Ruthenians in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth than Lithuanians, as mentioned yesterday, but since no one speaks it anymore, it is natural to wonder where they all went. The truth is that they didn't go anywhere, more than normal anyhow, but that the language split into several different ones, namely Belarusian, Ukrainian, and controversially, Rusyn. Rusyn, spoken mostly in Slovakia, Serbia, and Poland is the most similar to Ruthenian (occasionally Rusyn is called 'Ruthene') but while those in places like Slovakia, the US and Hungary etc. tend to consider it its own language, Ukrainians, Poles and Serbs etc. hold that it is actually a dialect of Ukrainian.
1691: Lithuanian was Unofficial in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Aug 1, 2019
1690: The 10 Commandments: not all Commandments Jul 31, 2019
The first of the "10 Commandments" for Jews and Catholics is not actually a commandment, per se. To follow-up on the post on the 10 commandments, "I am the L-rd, your G-d" is actually a statement. This is a problem of translation, but what was mistranslated was the notion of 'commandment'. The phrase "10 Commandments" comes from the Hebrew "עשרת הדברים" (aseret ha-d'varim) meaning "the ten words", or "the ten verses". Indeed, the Bible has hundreds of other commandments, so this alternative name is no less specific in some ways.
1689: 10 Commandments: Not Set in Stone Jul 30, 2019
Even without reading the Bible, people often know about the 10 commandments, but if you ask a Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox or Jewish person etc. what they are, you will get different answers. This is because there are actually 12-14 points that make up the the 10 commandments, but some lines are grouped together. Most interpretations keep the 3 lines about not coveting one's neighbor's A) house B) wife and C) ox (and anything else) as a single commandment, but Catholics and Lutherans have them as two. In fact, the 9th commandment for Catholics is drawn from those 3, but the order from how it is written in in the Bible is changed, putting 'wife' as its own commandment before the other two things not to be coveted. Many Christians also do not consider "I am the Lord, your G-d" a commandment, though it's the first for Jews and Catholics. Moreover, Samaritans have the 10th commandment as "You shall set up these stones, which I command you today, on Mount Gerizim", but no other group considers this to be one of the 10 commandments at all.
For more on modern considerations of the Bible, watch this:
1688: hiphop Jul 29, 2019
Although hip hop as a genre has been around only a few decades, the word has been around since the 17th century. At least by the 1670's as adverbial and described repetitive hopping, but the ablaut reduplication (i.e. doubling a word and changing part) also mirrors other words like 'tip-top'. Even the Rapper's Delight line "hip hop to the hippity hip" uses another version of this that developed in the 19th century, again about a hopping motion, and later certain kinds of dancing, but came to name a genre of music later on.
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1687: Naming Planets after Hell Jul 28, 2019
As mentioned in the past, though in regards to fish, it is very common for scientists to name things after Hell. However, in keeping with their traditions of naming things with Greek and Latin, these names often come from Classical mythology. For instance, geologists refer to the earliest period in Earth's history as the 'Hadean eon', a name which is derived from Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Moreover, the celestial dwarf 'Pluto' comes from the Romanized version of the same god. Both of these names were used to describe the wretched conditions on the planets.
For more words from hellish origins click here.
1686: piglet and pig Jul 27, 2019
The word 'piglet', for a concept so old, is relatively new, the first known use coming from the mid-19th century. Before this there were some earlier words like 'hogling', used in Middle English, or even 'porket', coming from French. What all of these examples, and even others not included here tend to have is a diminutive suffix on another word meaning 'adult pig', but even before 'hogling', there was no need for this. The Old English word for 'piglet' was 'picg' (same as 'pig') but this was not any less precise, because an adult would only be called a 'swine' (sƿín).
Watch more on etymology here: https://youtu.be/AviuxNIvdPM