Thread: Etymology Game

I hope other people get involved in this and it doesn't just end up with me being a loney word nerd.

Related to "Blue":

Melancholy [mel-uhn-kol-ee]
noun
1. MEDICINE. Originally a pathological condition attributed to a supposed excess of choler adust, one of the cardinal humours, and distinguished especially by sullenness, irascibility, and sadness. Later (now rare) pathological depression, melancholia.
2. Irascibility, anger, sullenness.
3. Sadness, dejection, depression; especially pensive or meditative sadness. Also, inclination or tendency to this. B: An annoyance, a vexation. Now chiefly literary. C: A state, episode or mood of (pensive or meditative) sadness, etc.

[Old and Modern French, mélancholie, from late Latin melancholia from Greek melankholia, from melan- (black), + khole (bile).]

(The coolest part is definition 1: The cardinal humours is a fascinating medieval pseudo-scientific concept that is REALLY worth looking up for anyone interested in the history of medieval mentalities.)

Wikipedia on "The Four Cardinal Humours" and medieval and early modern scientific and medical theory!!!!!

Come on, keep it goin' people!

Irascibility

i·ras·ci·ble (-rs-bl, -rs-) KEY

ADJECTIVE:

Prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered.
Characterized by or resulting from anger.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin rscibilis, from Latin rsc, to be angry, from ra, anger; see eis- in Indo-European roots


I got recruited for this, you can thank Vex there.

Only because you're one of the biggest, sweetest nerds I know, Daeva.

Malice: mal·ice

n.
A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
Law. The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin malitia, from malus, bad. See mel-3 in Indo-European Roots.]

(hard to not spell it malyss...)

Wo-hoo! A conscript!

Related to "Malice":

masochism [mas-uh-kiz-uhm]
noun
The condition or state of deriving (especially sexual) gratification from one's own pain or humiliation; colloqial, enthusiasm for doing what appears to be painful or tiresome.

[from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1835-95), Austrian novelist who described the practice + -ism]

Etymology is fun! I never knew "Masochism" was named after a person...

Wikipedia on "Leopold von Sacher-Masoch" and his books!!!

Hey, I read up on that cardinal humors thing. That is interesting stuff. And checked out the link above. I never knew it was actually named after a person either. Funny that he disliked having Masochism named after him. haha. Poor guy.

related to masochism...

Joshua [josh-oo-uh]

–noun
1. the successor of Moses as leader of the Israelites. Deut. 31:14, 23; 34:9
2. a book of the Bible bearing his name. Abbreviation: Josh
3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning "God is salvation"
4. derived from the same root as Jesus.

[Late Latin Ioshua, from Hebrew y ûa‘, Yahweh (is) salvation. See hwy in Semitic Roots.]


I know you're probably thinking wtf, but I happen to know a mega masochist, His name is automatically associated with masochism in my mind.

Hehe...That last entry automaticly wins hands down no matter what else is posted in here.


Main Entry: whore
Pronunciation: 'hor, 'hur
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English hore, from Old English hOre; akin to Old Norse hOra whore, hOrr adulterer, Latin carus dear -- more at CHARITY
1 : a woman who engages in sexual acts for money : PROSTITUTE; also : a promiscuous or immoral woman
2 : a male who engages in sexual acts for money
3 : a venal or unscrupulous person

Uhhhh... I feel like I'm out of the loop here. Probably a good thing.

HOW I get from whore to the following word? Well, either the idea of the madonna-whore and the seductiveness that implies, or... well... Madonna. Enough said. Pffft, slattern.

Madonna [muh-don-uh]
noun
1. a. Used as a respectful form of address to an Italian woman, or in literal renderings of Italian speech.
b. An Italian woman. (rare)
2. The Virgin Mary; a picture or statue of the Virgin Mary.
3. More fully 'Madonna Braid'. A hairstyle in which the hair is parted to the centerand arranged smoothly on either side of the face, as in Italian representations of the Madonna.

[Italian, from ma old unstressed form of mia my (from Latin mea) + donna lady (from Latin domina): cf MADAM noun]

(I was going to link to a picture of a Madonna, but the particular picture I wanted to like to, probably would get me banned. Can you guess WHICH madonna it was? Hmmmmm....)

Here's one i found, but i just copied and pasted it, so if there is anything offensive, please forgive me.

<div align="center">The Etymology of Hate


The definitions listed arose from class discussions and annotated bibliographies submitted by you. References are listed whenever possible.

-A-

ANTI-SEMITISM a prejudice or discrimination against Jews, based on negative perceptions of their religious beliefs or on negative group stereotypes. Anti-Semitism can also be a form of racism, as when Nazis and others consider Jews an inferior race.

-B-
-C-

CRACKER:

A poor, white person in some parts of the southern United States who, perhaps, could only afford to eat crackers.
The most common explanation for the origin of this phrase is that it is from corncracker, or someone who distills corn whiskey (cracking corn is to crush it into a mash for distillation). The song lyric "Jimmy Crack Corn" is a reference to this. In the song a slave sings about his master got drunk, fell, hit his head, and died. And the slave "don&#39;t care." The usage, however, is probably not the origin of the term cracker.
More likely is that it is from an early sense of crack meaning to boast. This sense dates to the 16th century. A 1766 quote in the OEO2 gives the origin of cracker as boastful. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
a small firework
a slang term used by 19th century Georgian slaves to refer to the cracking of the slavemaster&#39;s whip.
a white person (Dictionary of Afro-American Slang by Clarence Major)


-D-
DAMN: Middle English (dampnen), from Old French (dampner), from Latin (damnare), from damum damage, loss, fine (13th Century). Expression of annoyance, disgust or surprise; to condemn to a punishment; to bring ruin on (Merriam-Webster&#39;s Collegiate Dictionary, 2001)



-E-


-F-
FAGGOT:

Slang term for an effeminate, homosexual male.
A bundle of sticks. During the European Inquisition in the 14th century, witches were burned at the stake. When the bundles of sticks diminished, Homosexuals males were thrown on the fire to keep it burning.
Derived from the 16th century Italian word fa(n)gotto meaning a disagreeable woman
Possibly dervived from the Yiddish word, fagele, meaning little bird.
Burden or baggage


FUCK: originally recorded in German as early as the 12th century from "ficken" (to strike). First recorded in English in the 15th century. Its first occurrence; in a poem entitled, "Fenflyys" written sometime before 1500 in code, illustrating the unacceptability of the word even then. It satirized the Carmelite friars of Cambridge, England. Once decoded, the first line of the poem reads:"They are not in heaven because they fuck wives of Fly (a town near Cambridge)."

to have sexual intercourse with
to victimize
used in the imperative as a signal of angry dismissal
(urban legend): For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was an upshot of Victorian England&#39;s need for euphemisms. When porstitutes were arrested the good constables, in the interest of expediency, began entering F.U.C.K. in their police blotters.
-G-
-H-

HOMOPHOBIA: a prejudice against homosexuals (gays and lesbians) which can lead to discrimination and violence against homosexuals or people perceived as homosexual.

-I-
-J-

JACKASS:

A donkey. Mississippi farmer Dan Grogen was credited with using this term in 1939
an insult (Webster&#39;s Dictionary, 1992).
-K-
KIKE:

from the Yiddish kikel~ a circle; the mark used by some illiterate Jewish immigrants rather than a cross-when signing papers at Ellis Island
from kieken: to peep and linked to Jewsih American clothes manufacturers who &#39;peeped&#39; at smarter European fashions and produced mass-market knockoffs, popular among their poor customers (Words Apart:The Language of Prejudice by Jonathon Green)
vulgarity referring to a Jewish person originally coined by the German Jews to use against Russian Jews. It comes from the "k" sound at the end of many Russian Jewish names such as Lewinsky or Lencoff. (from Etymologically Speaking by Steven Friedman)
-L-
-M-

-N-

NIGGER: The obsolete spelling "niger" dates back to 1574 dervied from the Latin word meaning black

comes from the Latin root for black. The word was used in both England and America around the 17th century. Around 1825, abolitionists and blacks began feeling the word was hurtful to them. After the Civil War, the word "nigger" became the most commonly used term to describe the blacks. Even though the word was at first not meant to offend, such powerful white men as George Conrad continually used it during public speaking and argued that the word was not meant to be offensive.
Phonetic spelling of the white southern pronunciation of "Negro".
Term used by African captives to describe themselves, in many cases without attaching a stigma to the word.
-O-
-P-

PICNIC:

Internet lore (and perhaps folklore prior to the internet) has the origin of this word as lynching party for blacks in the American South, originally deriving from the phrase pick an nigger. This is absolutely incorrect. The word&#39;s origins have no racial overtones whatsoever. In actuality, it derives from the French pique-nique meaning the same thing as it does in English-an outing that includes food. Pique is either a reference to a leisurely style of eating ("as in pick at your food") or its reference to selective delicacies chosen for the outing. Nique is a nonsense syllable chosen to rhyme. The word appears in English as early as 1748 in reference to picnics in Germany. The word did not gain widespread use in Britain until Britain until c.1800.
French word, pique-nique, which first appeared at the end of the seventeenth century. It referred to a fashionable type of social entertainment in which each person who attended brought a share of food.
-Q-
-R-

RACISM: a prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities. Racism holds that genetic, or inherited, differences produce the inherent superiority or inferiority of one race to another.

RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY: a prejudice or discrimination against all members of a particular religious group based on negative perceptions of their religious beliefs and practices or on negative group stereotypes.



-S-
SEXISM: a prejudice or discrimination based on gender

SPIC:

coined around the beginning of the 20th century, referring to Spaniards, Italians, Mexicans, Filipinos, Pacific Islanders and Latin Americans and Mediterraneans in general; appears to come from the phrase "no spicka da English"; additional theories link it to spaghetti, the stereotypical Italian food.
a person from Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Spain. Derogatory [US]
of Spain and its languages, also spelled "Spick"
-T-
-U-

-V-

-W-

WHORE: to associate or have sexual relations with prosititutes, to accept payment in exchange for sexual relations. The common Germanic word horaz had the underlying meaning of "one who desires" and/or "adulterer". (American Heritage Dictionary)

WOP:

comes from the word "guapo" (Spanish)/ "guappo" (Italian) meaning handsome. The word came to mean handsome scoundrel
-X-
-Y-

-Z-</div>

I would play this game but I can&#39;t figure out where you guys are getting all this info from...

I don&#39;t even understand the game.

It&#39;s just a word association game, except you add the definition and etymology of the word you post.

Just copy and paste a word&#39;s definition and etymology out of an online dictionary.

I&#39;ll go with Hate from cachero&#39;s entry. The word that instantly springs to my mind is Mother. (yes I do have issues)



Mother: moth·er

n.
A woman who conceives, gives birth to, or raises and nurtures a child.
A female parent of an animal.
A female ancestor.
A woman who holds a position of authority or responsibility similar to that of a mother: a den mother.
Roman Catholic Church.
A mother superior.
Used as a form of address for such a woman.
A woman who creates, originates, or founds something: “the discovery of radium, which made Marie Curie mother to the Atomic Age” (Alden Whitman).
A creative source; an origin: Philosophy is the mother of the sciences.
Used as a title for a woman respected for her wisdom and age.
Maternal love and tenderness: brought out the mother in her.
The biggest or most significant example of its kind: the mother of all battles.
Vulgar Slang. Something considered extraordinary, as in disagreeableness, size, or intensity.

adj.
Relating to or being mother.
Characteristic of a mother: mother love.
Being the source or origin: the mother church.
Derived from or as if from one&#39;s mother; native: one&#39;s mother language.

tr.v. moth·ered, moth·er·ing, moth·ers
To give birth to; create and produce.
To watch over, nourish, and protect maternally.


[Middle English moder, mother, from Old English mdor; see mter- in Indo-European Roots. N., sense 10, translation of Iraqi Arabic &#39;umm. N., sense 11, short for motherfucker.]

(((etymology of a word is usually found at the bottom of a word&#39;s definition)))

Originally Posted by Vex

Just copy and paste a word&#39;s definition and etymology out of an online dictionary.[/b]

ONLINE? Pffft. I&#39;m working from my own copy of the Shorter Oxford.

Yeah, there is that way too but, hey, it&#39;s me. I&#39;m lazy with a capital LAY.
Copy and paste is god&#39;s gift to geekdom.

Ugh. Internet dictionaries are short, inaccurate, have insufficient etymology, and AMERICAN (mostly). I prefer my massive 2-volume oxford shorter. Also, I recently got a new edition Oxford English Dictionary of English Provverbs and Phrases. It&#39;s a nice big tome, got it seconghand, it&#39;s really fantastic. Also have a Dictionary of Phrase and Fables - that&#39;s fantastic too.

Related to "Mother": Let&#39;s go from Greek mythology:

Oxford Shorter:

Gaia
noun
The earth regarded as a self-regulating system in which living matter collectively defines and maintains the conditions for the continuance of life; (more fully Gaia hypothesis) the hypothesis that the earth is such a system.
]Greek gaia (the) earth.]


OR the definition from my NEW Brewer&#39;s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:

Gaia or Ge
noun
The Greek goddess of the Earth, who gave birth to the sky, mountains and sea. By Uranus she brought forth the Titans, the Cyclops and other giants and according to some legend she was the mother of the Eumenides.
]Greek Ge &#39;earth&#39;]

Wikipedia on "Gaia" the Greek Goddess

Wow. I only have one dictionary, the Websters New World College Dictionary. It&#39;s massive and gets a lot of use but never thought to shop around for different versions of a dictionary. Just got Webster&#39;s because it was the only one available. Perhaps I should try a different dictionary. Can&#39;t hurt to have a couple at one&#39;s disposal.


Deific: de·if·ic
adj.

1. Making or tending to make divine.
2. Of or characterized by divine or godlike nature.


[Late Latin deificus : Latin deus, god; see dyeu- in Indo-European Roots + Latin -ficus, -fic.]

WEBSTERS IS NOT A DICTIONARY&#33;&#33;&#33; IT&#39;S JUST AN INDEX OF WORDS WITH CRAP AMERICAN DEFINITIONS&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

The only true dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary. Anything else is just a pseudo-dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary defines what is right, correct, and apposite. With the exception of the spelling of "-ise" as "-ize" and a few other crap Americanisations that have creeped in, the Oxford English Dictionary is the GOD of language. All other dictionaries are heresies.

I&#39;m sorry. I didn&#39;t know anybetter&#33;

I can&#39;t believe all these years I&#39;ve been referencing crap.

I love etymology&#33; I have a book on it that I enjoy a lot.

Related to : Deitic / Divine :

Aph·ro·di·te (AFRO - DIGHT)
n. Greek Mythology.
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty and sexuality. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus.


[Greek Aphrodt, of Phoenician origin. See tr in Semitic Roots.]

Hey Zeek&#33; Glad to see another wordnerd in the house.



Prurient: pru-ri-ent [proor-ee-uhnt]

–adjective 1. having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.
2. causing lasciviousness or lust.
3. having a restless desire or longing.


[Origin: 1630–40; < L prūrient- (s. of prūriēns), prp. of prūrīre to itch]

mysophilia [ mahy-suh-fil-ee-uh]

–noun Psychiatry. a pathological attraction to dirt or filth.




[Origin: 1955–60; < NL, equiv. to myso- (< Gk mýsos filth) + -philia -philia]

Slob:

n. Informa.
A person regarded as slovenly, crude, or obnoxious.


[Irish Gaelic slab, mud, from Old Irish, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialectal slabb, mud.]


I happen to live amongst many of the afore mentioned creatures.

Originally Posted by Vex

Slob:

n. Informa.
A person regarded as slovenly, crude, or obnoxious.
[Irish Gaelic slab, mud, from Old Irish, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialectal slabb, mud.]
I happen to live amongst many of the afore mentioned creatures.

[/b]

In relation to Slob:

an*noy*ing  [uh-noi-ing]

1. –adjective causing annoyance; irritatingly bothersome: annoying delays.
2. -noun Britney Spears; obnoxious, big, "A Slave For You"

[Middle English anoien, from Old French anoier, ennuyer, from Vulgar Latin *inodire, to make odious, from Latin in odio, odious : in, in; see in-2 + odi, ablative of odium, hatred; see od- in Indo-European Roots.]

very annoying, especially at night..

crick·et1 /ˈkrɪkɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[krik-it] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. any of several jumping, orthopterous insects of the family Gryllidae, characterized by long antennae and stridulating organs on the forewings of the male, as one of the species commonly found in pastures and meadows (field cricket) or on trees and shrubs (tree cricket).
2. a small metal toy with a flat metal spring that snaps back and forth with a clicking, cricketlike noise when pressed.


[Origin: 1275–1325; ME criket insect < OF criquet, equiv. to criqu(er) to creak (imit.) + -et -et]

YAY&#33;
You raised my thread from the dead.


ver·min (vûr&#39;mĭn)
n. pl. vermin

Various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.
Animals that prey on game, such as foxes or weasels.

A person considered loathsome or highly offensive.
Such people considered as a group.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *vermīnum, from Latin vermis, worm; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]