Lukewarm
Most of us know that lukewarm means tepid, moderately warm. But the term is another of those strange ones to the modern ear. What the heck does luke have to do with temperature?
This is another case where an archaic word remains fossilized in a word still in use. Luke is a Middle English form of the Old English hléow meaning warm or sunny. From a poem c.1205:
And opened wes his breoste. Tha blod com forth luke.
By the late 14th century, the form lukewarm had made its appearance, with a shift in meaning to tepid. From John de Trevisa's Bartholomeus of that year:
The broth of clete . . . comfortyth the teeth: yf it be luke warme hote holde in the mouth. [One manuscript reads "lewke hote."]
Word Origins
Meaning: To make a hissing sound;to fail or end weakly
Origin: Derives from the word fisten,To fart. Its original definition,according to the Oxford English Dictionary,is the action of breaking wind quickly.
FIZZLE
Origin: Derives from the word fisten,To fart. Its original definition,according to the Oxford English Dictionary,is the action of breaking wind quickly.
FIZZLE
Last edited by noreply66 on Mon Nov 13, 2006 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
CRAP...In the 1400s, it meant chaff from winnowed grain. later, it was used for things cast off or discarded. It was first known to be used for 'defecate' about 1846, and , contrary to popular belief, did NOT come from Sir Thomas Crapper(1837-1910) who invented the modern chain-and-ball toilet flushing mechanism in 1882. 'Crap' was first used to mean'rubbish, nonsense' about 1898.
The word originally came from Old French, crappe, "chaff".
The word originally came from Old French, crappe, "chaff".
DIG...Its meaning of "understand" or "appreciate", I.e. "Oh, Baby, I DIG you the most" was first written by Southern blacks in 1934. It came into widespread use among teenagers in the 1950s as many of the rock-n-roll hits of the time were remakes of existing "bebop" songs originally performed by black artists. I believe we know that this usage has largely died out now, but we still hear it occasionally.
SQUARE...The use of this word as "old-fashioned, outta step" was popularized by 1950s teens, usually to describe their parents or older relatives who just didn't "dig" their rock & roll, greaser hairstyles, dancing, etc. However, this meaning was first recorded in 1771 as a "square-toed" person, after a shoe style that had fallen outta fashion. It was revived as simply "square" in jazz slang, first recorded in 1944, and its use among Southern blacks soon spread nationwide among young people in the '50s.
I believe we all realize this use of that word isn't much-used now. Hope these mentions of "dig" & "square" bring back memories for people in my age group.(I'm 58)
I believe we all realize this use of that word isn't much-used now. Hope these mentions of "dig" & "square" bring back memories for people in my age group.(I'm 58)
If you've ever visited the baseball Hall Of fame or read about it, you may have seen the name CANDY CUMMINGS. & seen his real name William Arthur Cummings....and wondered how he got the nick "Candy".
Here's how...Shortly after he began pitching in 1872, he was recognized as the best pitcher of the time, and at this time, "The Candy" was popular slang for the best of anything. That slang died out about 1900. (Cummings lived until 1924, carrying the handle "Candy" to his grave.)
BTW, Cummings is credited with being the inventor of the curve ball.
Here's how...Shortly after he began pitching in 1872, he was recognized as the best pitcher of the time, and at this time, "The Candy" was popular slang for the best of anything. That slang died out about 1900. (Cummings lived until 1924, carrying the handle "Candy" to his grave.)
BTW, Cummings is credited with being the inventor of the curve ball.
Last edited by robycop3 on Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SKINNY...Lately, this word has come into use as a noun meaning "the truth". However, this use is not new. In WW2, GIs who had read "Stars & Stripes", & other patriotic literature distributed in the ranks, spoke of getting "the skinny" from other sources. This use is derived from "the naked truth" and "skinnydipping".
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BubbleGumTiger
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Hoosier
Most people know that a Hoosier is a native of Indiana. But where does the term come from and what does it mean? The answer is an unsatisfying "origin unknown." The word dates to at 1826, when it appears in the Chicago Tribune of 2 June:
The Indiana hoosiers that came out last fall is settled from 2 to 4 milds [sic] of us.
Hoosier also has the sense of an uneducated, rural yokel, a rustic. Some believe that this is actually the original sense and that it later specialized to mean someone from Indiana. This is a possibility, especially if the 1826 usage is in this sense. But this rustic sense can only be unambiguously dated to 1836, after the appearance of the Indiana sense. From Spirit of the Times, 15 October of that year:
After waiting almost as long as the Hoosier did for salt river to run by that he might pass over dry, I at last caught an opening.
In 1919, historian J.P. Dunn proposed that Hoosier came from a Cumberland dialectical term hoozer, meaning something large or big—literally a big hill. This explanation is often repeated, but it is almost certainly false. There is only a single attestation of the British term, in an 1899 word list of the Cumberland dialect, well after the term was established in the US. There are no known uses of hoozer in America
Most people know that a Hoosier is a native of Indiana. But where does the term come from and what does it mean? The answer is an unsatisfying "origin unknown." The word dates to at 1826, when it appears in the Chicago Tribune of 2 June:
The Indiana hoosiers that came out last fall is settled from 2 to 4 milds [sic] of us.
Hoosier also has the sense of an uneducated, rural yokel, a rustic. Some believe that this is actually the original sense and that it later specialized to mean someone from Indiana. This is a possibility, especially if the 1826 usage is in this sense. But this rustic sense can only be unambiguously dated to 1836, after the appearance of the Indiana sense. From Spirit of the Times, 15 October of that year:
After waiting almost as long as the Hoosier did for salt river to run by that he might pass over dry, I at last caught an opening.
In 1919, historian J.P. Dunn proposed that Hoosier came from a Cumberland dialectical term hoozer, meaning something large or big—literally a big hill. This explanation is often repeated, but it is almost certainly false. There is only a single attestation of the British term, in an 1899 word list of the Cumberland dialect, well after the term was established in the US. There are no known uses of hoozer in America
PLAYBOY...This term for a wealthy single male party animal was first used in 1829; its female counterpare 'playgirl' in 1934. Hugh Hefner's magazine was first published December, 1953, & featured a calendar pic of Marilyn Monroe on the cover.
Got any copies of that first issue in the attic? It could be worth up to ten grand to a collector!
Got any copies of that first issue in the attic? It could be worth up to ten grand to a collector!
GUN...This word from a firearm came from a woman's name, Gunilda. (Not from any specific woman with that name.) In 1339, "gunne" first appeared in English, & meant any war engine that hurled stones, chunks of metal, or large arrows/spears at the enemy. Later, it was applied to large firearms such as the cannon, and by the 1400s, hand-held firearms were called 'small gunnes' & cannon, etc. were called 'great gunnes'. The spelling was modified to the present form in the late 1600s.
The correct terminology is used by the Navy in calling ships' cannons guns, but today, virtually every firearm is called a gun....as well as any machine or device that ejects a missile, ray, or substance, I.E. "caulking gun, grease gun, electron gun in TV pic tubes".
The correct terminology is used by the Navy in calling ships' cannons guns, but today, virtually every firearm is called a gun....as well as any machine or device that ejects a missile, ray, or substance, I.E. "caulking gun, grease gun, electron gun in TV pic tubes".
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BubbleGumTiger
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Lent
To the modern ear, Lent, the name for the season of fasting that precedes Easter, is an odd word; it has no apparent religious or seasonal connotation. But this was not always the case.
The word comes from the Old English lencten, the name for the season we now call spring. The Anglo-Saxon name is long gone in English, surviving only in the name of the religious observance.
To the modern ear, Lent, the name for the season of fasting that precedes Easter, is an odd word; it has no apparent religious or seasonal connotation. But this was not always the case.
The word comes from the Old English lencten, the name for the season we now call spring. The Anglo-Saxon name is long gone in English, surviving only in the name of the religious observance.
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Buck
The origin of buck, the slang term for a dollar, is unknown.
It is commonly believed to be a clipped form of buckskin, a reference to skins being used as units of commerce on the American frontier. The problem with this is that buck is not attested to until 1856, from the Sacramento Democratic State Journal of 3 July:
Bernard, assault and battery upon Wm. Croft, mulcted in the sum of twenty bucks.
This is a bit late for the buckskin explanation, still it is plausible that the word was used on the frontier and simply not written down for decades.
The origin of buck, the slang term for a dollar, is unknown.
It is commonly believed to be a clipped form of buckskin, a reference to skins being used as units of commerce on the American frontier. The problem with this is that buck is not attested to until 1856, from the Sacramento Democratic State Journal of 3 July:
Bernard, assault and battery upon Wm. Croft, mulcted in the sum of twenty bucks.
This is a bit late for the buckskin explanation, still it is plausible that the word was used on the frontier and simply not written down for decades.
TELEVISION...We all know TV was realized just before WW2, but that war put it on hold until late 1945. But how about the WORD? It was coined in France long ago & meant "seeing at a distance"; the British "borrowed" it in 1907 when it was first proposed that video as well as audio could be sent through the air. Thus, the name was born before the device!
The British shortened it to 'telly' in 1940, the USA to 'TV' in 1948. First use of 'television' as a noun meaning "a television receiver" was first used by RCA in ads in 1955.
The British shortened it to 'telly' in 1940, the USA to 'TV' in 1948. First use of 'television' as a noun meaning "a television receiver" was first used by RCA in ads in 1955.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD...The band got its name from the HS gym teacher of several of the future band members, Leonard Skinner, who enforced the rule in place at the time in the Gainesvill, Fl. school system that boys' hair was not to touch the collar nor have sideburns below the ear. He once told' em, "You boys aint never gonna amount to nothin'".
No, Leonard is not the father of Marshall QB Jimmy Skinner. Leonard is in Fl. while Jimmy hails from Chilly, OH.
No, Leonard is not the father of Marshall QB Jimmy Skinner. Leonard is in Fl. while Jimmy hails from Chilly, OH.