ETYMOLOGICAL FUN

WORDS ENTER A LANGUAGE BY A VARIETY OF MEANS: onomatopoeia (identifying a sound), evolution (derived from an earlier word), immigration (imported from another language), and, adding to the fun, downright mistakes. The WordGenius website offers examples: “These Words Were Invented by Mistake.” Here are several of my favorites, with some added etymological sleuthing. 

Sneeze. WordGenius notes, “The Old English word ‘fnesan’ means to snort. Styles of writing and penmanship later changed, and there was confusion between the letter ’s’ and the letter ‘f.’ Fnesan turned into snesan, and there you have the start of sneeze. Gesundheit!”

Wikipedia amplifies on this “long s,” as it’s called: “The long s ⟨ſ⟩, also known as the medial s or initial s, is an arciac form of the lowercase letter ⟨s⟩…. This list of rules for the long s [six are offered] is not exhaustive, and it applies only to books printed during the 17th and 18th centuries in English-speaking countries. Similar rules exist for other European languages.”

Our Declaration of Independence begins with “When in the Courſe of human Events….”

Culprit. “Throughout the Middle Ages,” WordGenius recounts, “the language of law was French. This particular word may have been created as a misinterpretation of a common abbreviation in legal documents, cul.prist. ‘Culpable: prest d’averrer notre bille,’ or ‘Guilty: we’re ready to prove your indictment.’ As the years went on and English became more common, the abbreviations became harder to understand. It is most likely this confusion that created culprit as the guilty word we know today.”

The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, Volumes 1 and 2, with Magnifying Glass concurs: “Known as a word only since 1678.” 

Ammunition. WordGenius says, “Ammunition, like culprit, is from French, one of the more dominant languages throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The word ‘la munition,’ which means military weapons, was heard incorrectly by English speakers as ammunition, and the word has maintained its firing power today.” 

Curiously, the O.E.D. suggests the French corrupted the word themselves: soldiers using the word amonition, though the officers called it munition.

Pea. “The word pea is actually known as a backformation,” says WordGenius, “or a word created from an already existing and usually longer word. The original form of the green legume was ‘pease,’ with the plural being ‘pesen.’ However, ‘pease’ was mistaken for the plural, and people quickly became used to calling the singular ‘pea.’ The mistake stuck around, and now ‘peas’ is the plural of ‘pea.’ ”

I recall the 18th-century kids’ nursery rhyme: “Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,/ Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old.”

Wikipedia describes the kids’ game, pairing off and clapping their hands together as follows. 

“Pease (clap both hands to thighs) porridge (clap own hands together) hot (clap partner’s hands), pease (clap both hands to thighs) porridge (clap own hands together) cold (clap partner’s hands), Pease (clap thighs) porridge (clap own hands) in the (clap right hands only) pot (clap own hands), nine (clap left hands only) days (clap own hands) old (clap partner’s hands).(Repeat actions for second stanza). NOTE: The actions are performed during recitation of the word or phrase, not following.”

I recall the game also accelerates the speed of recitation (leading to random hand clapping and worse).

Sashay. WordGenius recounts, “Chassé is a French ballet term, meaning to move across the floor and then to jump and bring your feet together. Then English ears heard it and wrote down sashay, which means a sassy, dance-like walk.”

O.E.D. adds an alternative spelling “sashy.” It also quotes Bret Harte writing, “Ye remember how he sashayed round newspaper offices in Frisco until he could write a flapdoodle story himself?” 

Don’t call me “Frisco,” the city on the bay responded. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023