|
|
| Author |
Message |
coyote
|
|
The Etymology Item
| 
Jun 1 03:11 UTC 1997 |
Etymology is an important part in the study of languages, and I personally
think that it's quite interesting, and that this conference should have an
item devoted to it. It grants new insights into the meanings of certain
words, and helps immensly in word association. Oftentimes I can discern the
meaning of a word just by recognizing some of its roots! Anyways, this item
is for the discussion of etymology, the etymology of different words, and
stuff like that. To start us off, I though I'd give a brief history of the
word 'language' since that's what this is all about (I gleaned this
information simply from the dictionary, just fleshed out the abbreviations.):
The word 'language' in Modern English was the same in Middle English, with
no change in meaning.
It's derives from the Old French word 'langage', which is in turn derived from
'langue', meaning tongue.
'Langue' derives from the classical Latin word 'lingua' meaning tongue,
language, or altered.
Through association with the Latin 'lingere', to lick, it's been traced back
to the Old Latin 'dingua', and from this the etymologists have guessed
that the Indo-European root word is something like 'dnghwa' (don't ask
me how to pernounce that).
Interesting stuff, if you feel like taking the time to go through it.
Personally, language probably isn't one of the words whose root is going to
stick with me to help discern other words, but, hey, who knows?
|
| 22 responses total. |
albaugh
|
|
response 1 of 22:
|
Jun 2 18:17 UTC 1997 |
Just don't confuse "etymology" with "entomology" ! :-)
(Which everyone knows is the study of "ents" [see J.R.R. Tolkein] ;-)
|
srw
|
|
response 2 of 22:
|
Jun 14 06:51 UTC 1997 |
Hee hee. Entology is the study of ent. Entomology is insects, but you knew
that. Well that is a word I have known for a long time, but since this is the
etymology item, I'll say what I know about its origin.
-ology is not latin, but Greek. It means "the study of ..."
entomo must mean insects, but I do not know of any other word constructed from
that root.
|
albaugh
|
|
response 3 of 22:
|
Jun 16 14:26 UTC 1997 |
You mean there's no such thing as an infestation of entoms? ;-)
|
kami
|
|
response 4 of 22:
|
Jun 16 17:56 UTC 1997 |
dunno, howabout an afestation of atoms?
|
albaugh
|
|
response 5 of 22:
|
Jun 17 14:32 UTC 1997 |
And then there's the study of ap's... ;-)
|
kami
|
|
response 6 of 22:
|
Jun 17 16:29 UTC 1997 |
ap-ology?
|
albaugh
|
|
response 7 of 22:
|
Jun 18 16:21 UTC 1997 |
And the study of the
|
kami
|
|
response 8 of 22:
|
Jun 19 01:24 UTC 1997 |
nullology? nihilism? <g>
|
albaugh
|
|
response 9 of 22:
|
Jun 19 18:32 UTC 1997 |
the-ology ;-)
|
kami
|
|
response 10 of 22:
|
Jun 19 19:05 UTC 1997 |
oh, of course. You believe in THE. As opposed to IT. Got it. <g>
|
srw
|
|
response 11 of 22:
|
Jun 22 06:41 UTC 1997 |
So we find the etymology item reduced to puns.
Where does the word "pun" come from?
|
albaugh
|
|
response 12 of 22:
|
Jun 23 18:12 UTC 1997 |
From the Merriam-WWWebster Dictionary:
Main Entry: 1pun
Pronunciation: 'p&n
Function: noun
Etymology: perhaps from Italian puntiglio fine point, quibble -- more at
PUNCTILIO
Date: 1662
:the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more
of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound
Main Entry: punc-til-io
Pronunciation: "p&[ng]k-'ti-lE-"O
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -i-os
Etymology: Italian & Spanish; Italian puntiglio point of honor, scruple,
from Spanish puntillo, from diminutive of punto point, from Latin punctum
Date: 1596
1 : a minute detail of conduct in a ceremony or in observance of a code
2 : careful observance of forms (as in social conduct)
|
srw
|
|
response 13 of 22:
|
Jul 4 19:53 UTC 1997 |
thanks
|
srw
|
|
response 14 of 22:
|
Jul 4 19:54 UTC 1997 |
I made a note of the URL for that source...
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
|
bi974
|
|
response 15 of 22:
|
Aug 29 01:50 UTC 1997 |
hi everyone .... just i wanna say ( Como estan ? )
|
kami
|
|
response 16 of 22:
|
Aug 29 04:05 UTC 1997 |
Casi bien, gracias, un poco cansada. Y usted?
|
bradmand
|
|
response 17 of 22:
|
Dec 15 16:19 UTC 1998 |
hm...looks like this item is dead! hey how about a game like this: you give
out a word and others get a chance to figure out the root and make another
word from that root?
|
happyboy
|
|
response 18 of 22:
|
Dec 16 02:19 UTC 1998 |
crocodile
|
albaugh
|
|
response 19 of 22:
|
Dec 16 07:01 UTC 1998 |
My initial parsing uncovered something similar to "crock o' s**t" :-)
|
bradmand
|
|
response 20 of 22:
|
Dec 16 17:11 UTC 1998 |
My guess is 'croco**'!
|
coyote
|
|
response 21 of 22:
|
Dec 17 23:14 UTC 1998 |
krokodilos? (Greek for lizard)
|
happyboy
|
|
response 22 of 22:
|
Dec 21 01:29 UTC 1998 |
egyptian...pebble worm.
|