Interesting Words and Their Origins
Fascinating Terms and Their Etymologies
This blog has talked about interesting words and their origins before, and I have to admit a lingering fascination for learning the etymology of words.
Watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee every year and you’ll see what knowing the origin of a word can do for your understanding of that term or phrase.
First of all, from knowing how different languages spelled terms, you can guess at the spelling of a word. Beyond that, you can guess at the definition or likely meaning of a word, even if you don’t see it in context. Knowing a term’s etymology lets you step outside your own language and understand a word in another way.
With that in mind, here are some of my favorite interesting words and their origins. This is really just scraping the surface. If you enjoy learning the fascinating meaning behind these words and definitions, search for more odd terms and try to learn how they came to be.
Assassin – A murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed.
- Origin of Assasin: During the Crusades, a Muslim sect known as the hashshashin or “hash-eaters” (Nizari Ismailis of Syria) formed. Led by Hassan-i Sabbah, a Persian (Iranian) Ismaeli, these men took hash, had visions from Allah, and went out to murder their political enemies. This made an impression on the Christians living in the Crusader States at the time, and the Crusaders brought the term back to Europe with them, though it should be said that Hashshashin probably assassinated more Muslim enemies than Christian enemies.
Atom – The smallest component of an element still having the chemical properties of that element.
- Origin of Atom: Atom is actually an Ancient Greek term. The Greek philosopher, Democritus, theorized that matter eventually has ultimate components which cannot be divided. He called these “atoms”, which meant “uncutable”. When scientists began to discuss a fundamental particle, the term was lifted from the Ancient Greek. Ironically, scientists found there were levels beyond the atomic level, such as the molecular levels (particles that make up atoms) and the quantum level (a “quantum” being the new smallest unit). Splitting the uncutable atom is what gives us nuclear energy.
Addiction – Compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance.
- Origin of Addiction: The word “addiction” first appears in a work of William Shakespeare in the year 1599.
Bedlam – A place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion.
- Origin of Bedlam: Bedlam was a Middle English term for “Bethlehem”. When the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem opened in London in 1247, it was a priory. By 1330, St. Mary’s was mentioned as a hospital. By 1402, St. Mary’s of Bethlehem was mentioned for housing the insane. In 1547, St. Mary’s of Bethlehem (now Protestant times) was incorporated as a royal foundation which cared for the insane. Somewhere in all these centuries, Londoners took to calling the hospital “Bedlam” instead of Bethlehem, and Bedlam Hospital became known as the foremost (or most famous) of all insane asylums in the world. From here, Bedlam took on the meaning of uproar and confusion.
Malaria – Infectious disease spread by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito.
- Origin of Malaria: From the medieval Italian words “mal” or bad and “aria” or air, meaning the miasma from the swamps near Rome, which was known for malaria at the times. People assumed this bad air caused the disease. It was a good guess, though an incorrect one. Obviously, the mosquitos which lived in these swamps were the cause of malarial spreads.
Politics – The art or science of government; social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power.
- Origin of Politics: Politics comes from the Greek root word, “polis”, meaning city. Greek city-states were the first real democracies in human history, as most prior forms of government involved rule of the strong over the weak. Politics soon gained both its positive and negative connotations that it retains to this day. It’s association with the city meant politics early on had association with skill in oration, learning, affluence, and social intrigue. “Polis” is also the root word for “police”, “polite”, “cosmopolitan”, and city names like “Minneapolis”.
More Reading on Word Etymologies
If you want to learn more about the origins of words, here are a few suggested books to read. These come quite cheap at Amazon or other such places.
- Word Origins and How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone by Anatoly Liberman
- Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories by Wilfred Funk
- In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins by Rosalie Baker and Tom Lopes
- Dictionary of Word Origins: A History of the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use by Jordan Almond
- Dictionary of Word Origins: The Histories of Over 8,000 Words Explained by John Ayto
Read through any of these and your understanding of English words will grow. If you want to learn about word etymologies in smaller doses, buy the “Word Origin 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar” and learn a new interesting word and its origin every single day throughout the coming year.