Grit

Grit--it's a word that swings both ways, functioning  both as a noun and a verb.  "To grit one's teeth" is to press them hard against each other--usually in frustration or anger.  And to have grit is to have courage, spunk.

What I didn't know is that the word, coming from  Middle English, is derived from a word for sand, or small hard particles.  And it's used in geology to describe just that.

Makes sense--grits (a common breakfast cereal in the South) is just that!  Gritty.... 

Bamboozle

For no reason at all, I thought of the word "bamboozle" this morning.  Well, I knew what it was--it's to trick or deceive someone.  But where does it come from?

Thefreedictionary.com plays it safe--origin unknown.  The Online Etymology Dictionary traces the word to 1703, and speculates that it may be from the Scottish or from the French word  embabouiner "to make a fool (lit. 'baboon') of."

I vote for the French word--making a baboon of someone is an image that could easily last three centuries!

Guzzle

"Well, you've got a gas guzzler," I told a student, who was in pain over the cost of gasoline.  And he was puzzled.  So I explained--"to guzzle" is to drink greedily, and excessively.

And where does it come from?  "Origin unknown," says thefreedictionary.com.   Probably from Old French gossilier, says the online etymology Dictionary, which traces the word to the 1570s.

So it's a mystery--like the price of gasoline!

Glower

Everybody knows what "to glow" is--but what's "to glower?"

Well, it means to look angrily or threateningly.  And curiously, the two words may be related.  According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the first usage in the mid fifteenth century is "to shine."

Anyway, the word is thought to be of Scandanavian origin--from the Norse glora.  Knowing what I know about the Norwegians, that seems a good guess! 

Humbug

There's a word for your blog--humbug!" snapped Susan in an email a couple months ago.

And what a great word!  It means trickery, deceit, nonsense played on the unsuspecting.  Mostly a noun, it call also be a verb.

And what a great mystery, too.  No one knows where it came from--though it's alleged to be student slang, British origin....  A bit of buggery, perhaps?

Fidget

Fidget--what does it mean?  "To behave or move nervously or restlessly,"  says thefreedictionary.com  And that's true, but it misses just a bit of what "fidget" is--it's almost not definable.  You see it and you know it.

And it's roots?  Well, perhaps from the Middle English through old Norse, says the Online Etymology Dictionary : "fikjask 'to desire eagerly' (cf. Ger. ficken 'to move about briskly;' see fuck). The verb fidget is first attested 1670s (implied in fidgetting). Related: Fidgeted."

Go ahead--click on the link.  I did!

Will

It's funny--the stuff you think you know, and don't.  I knew that "will" was an auxiliary verb, as well as a noun.  The last will and testament, the will of God....

But "will" is used as an auxiliary verb for more than just the future tense.  Here's thefreedictionary.com :
1. simple futurity: I will go.
2. likelihood or certainty: You will regret this.
3. willingness: Will you help me?
4. requirement or command: You will go!
5. intention: I will too!
6. habitual action: People will talk.
7. capacity or ability: He won't crack under pressure.
8. probability or expectation: That will be John....

Rinse

I was a little numb yesterday, but I was also puzzled by a verb--enjuagar.  So I took the verb to where it should go, a once student boss, an excellent mother, now a cherished friend.  She told me, and she was right.  Mothers usually are.


OK--so where does it come from?  "Middle English rincen, from Old French rincier, from Vulgar Latin *recentire, from Latin recins, recent-, fresh; see recent.]"
says thefreedictionary.com.


Now, my dear Ofelia, tell me--why is there no cognate (rincear?) in Spanish?

Stingy

Students always ask me " how do you say maseta?" and I always tell them--stingy.  And they always forget.

Why?  Well, maybe because it's such a mean (sorry!) concept.  And also, according to the dictionary, it may derive from "sting."  Yup, what the bees do....

Anyway, it has lots of synonyms, such as "penny-pinching" and tight.  As in a fat lady's stocking.....

And yeah, "sting" is from Middle English.  Nor surprise there... 

Snug

A cherished sister wrote that her dog has a comfy bed, and every gringo / gringa would know that's an informal term for comfortable.  So I looked up where the word "comfortable" comes from, and guess what?  No clue! 

But I did see the word "snug" so that's todays word.  It means, yes, to be comfortable, but also to make something secure.  Oh, and the term "snug down"means to prepare a ship for a storm.

And the origin?  From a Scandanavian word snygg

Stymie

Well, the battery charger had me stymied, so I did what I always do--gave the damn thing to Raf.  And guess what!  HE was stymied, too.

So now I have to take it back to Radio Shack and hope the nice lady can show me (as she did yesterday--a fact I didn't mention to Raf....)

Nor can I tell you where the word comes from.  Origin unknown, says the dictionary.

However I did learn something--stymie is a golf term, as well as an obstruction.  Well and good.  It's when the opponent's ball is in the line of play.

Great, but I don't play golf, dammit!

Wonder

"What will tomorrow's word be--wonder?" I wrote in my last post.

And it is!  But this time, native Spanish speakers won't know the origin of the word, unlike "grace."  It derives from Old English wundor.

It means to be amazed, and like "grace" has come to have other meanings as well.  Commonly, it means to think, to ponder.

Spanish is more sensible--preguntarse--or ask yourself.

Hmmm, wonder why?

Grace

 

A friend mentions an organization, Engage with Grace, and I think 'hmm, is grace today's word?'

Nah, everyone knows it, and it's too close to the Spanish word gracias.  Besides, we all know it's from Latin.  But then I'm curious about the word gracias. I check the Spanish

Royal Academy--the OED of the Spanish language.  And get this. Aviso

La palabra gracias no está en el Diccionario

What?  Well, guys, check it out.  here's the link:
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=gracias

I then go back to check the English meaning of grace, and see the first definition: "seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement."

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grace

Enough for me, I think.  And what's tomorrow's word? Wonder?

Seethe

"I couldn't read all of it--I skimmed it and seethed," wrote Pat, or words to that effect.  Nor was she alone.  Other people had the same reaction.  Pettifogging, snippy, pompous--wow, all wonderful words for this blog.

But enough of that.  "Seethe"--where does it come from?  And what does it mean?

In Middle English, it meant literally to boil.  In modern English, it has the same meaning.  But figuratively!  And yes, I could see Pat--with steam coming out her ears!

Whopper

"That's a whopper," I said to a friend, while eating a hamburger.  He looked puzzled, and then glanced at the food in my hands--we were at McDonalds.  Right, I thought...

He had been telling me a very unlikely story--and a big one at that.  So that's really the meaning, or the two meanings  of "whopper." It's also why, ahem, Burger King took it over.  Their "whopper" is a BIG hamburger.

All that makes sense.  The word comes from Middle English, and meant originally to strike with a heavy blow.  So how did it get its present meaning?  Don't know--but it works for Burger King! 

Plaintive

"Listen to that plaintive voice in the second violin," I said to a friend while listening to Beethoven.  Then it occurred to me--do the good folk at the law firm I'm working with know that word?  "Plaintiff" they know, of course, but "plaintive?"

Probably not, I decided, but they--and everybody--should.  It means to be sad, mournful, deeply unhappy.  Originally from the French, it comes into Middle English and has stayed until today.  And yes, it's related to "plaintiff."

And it's one of those words that evokes great feeling.  Just like the second violin in the Beethoven quartet!

Drizzle

"It's drizzling," I thought, as I started my morning walk, and then thought, "how curious!  Don't think I know that word in Spanish...."

Well, a drizzle--again, both a noun and a verb--is a light, gentle rain.  Think London, although that may evoke fog--quite another thing.  And where does the word come from?

Old English--that I suspected.  And the dictionary confirms that "perhaps it's from verb drysnian, meaning to pass away, to vanish."

Logical enough.  This morning, in the drizzle, the contours of buildings, the angles of street corners all seemed slightly to vanish.

Glitter

"A third protestor was later arrested after she threw glitter on Santorum as he was shaking hands with the crowd," reports the National Journal; obviously "glitter" was the word for the day....

It raised two questions.  I knew that glitter (both a noun and a verb) means to shine brightly. As Santorum discovered, it also is that bright tiny stuff that people throw at parties--generally after the third bottle or so.  And it comes from the Norse--who generally HAVE to be drunk to be that merry.

What can't I answer?  The second question--why was a protestor throwing glitter on Santorum?

Tetchy

"My mother grinned tetchily," I wrote recently, and then thought hey--that's it!  The word for the day!

Right, I know what it means--slightly irritable or annoyed.  But where does it come from?  The sunny Italians?  The grumpy Norwegians?  I had no idea....

Well, of all people, it's the French!  Yup, the wine and cheese guys!  But maybe they can be forgiven (though with the French, I usually don't.)  It originally meant a blemish, and since one tends to touch a blemish, it was influenced by another word, "touchy."  (Don't ask how, or rather, look it up yourself!

Guess I'm tetchy!

Ordeal

"Well, it's been an ordeal,"I said to my good friend Oscar. 

"A deal?" he said.

"No, an ordeal--you know, a trial by fire.  A test of strength and courage.  Think Jesus--and the forty days in the desert...."

OK--that's what an ordeal is.

Then I remembered--centuries ago, people suspected of crimes were tried by being put through torture.  If they died, well, they were guilty.  If they survived, God had interceded, and they were innocent.  The whole process was called an ordeal.

The word comes from Early English through the German.  Hmmmm--no surprise there!  

Irk

"She was a little irked," I said to a friend, and he gave me a blank look.


"I mean, she was annoyed, a little angry," I said. "That's what irked means...."


Well, it's a word everyone knows, but where does it come from? I was betting the Scottish.


But as usual, I was wrong. It comes from old Norse--the forerunner of modern Norwegian. Not a surprise, really--the Norwegians tend to get annoyed easily!

Bounty

"Ive never heard of the Bounty," said my friend Moses.  We were talking about the ship--and that to me was incredible.  "I just thought bounty was a paper towel...."

"What!  Bounty is a perfectly wonderful word!  It means abundance, generosity.  It's also a reward--in Puerto Rico, there's talk of putting a bounty on iguanas, our local plague.  Kill one and you get ten bucks!"

OK--so what I didn't know is that it comes from Latin--though I suspected that--goes through old French, and is related--duh!--to another word.  Bonus!

Gumption

"Well, show a little gumption," my mother often said.  I knew what she meant--gumption means initiative, courage, common sense.  It's a word every American knows.  If she hadn't said "gumption" she could have said, "well, just get out there and do it!"

Right--but where does it come from?  I just looked it up--it's a Scottish word.  No surprise there--the Scots have plenty of gumption!

Batty

This is driving me batty, I thought, as I tried to program in VBA.  And then it struck me--"batty," the word for today!  Batty is another word for crazy....

Well, we know what a bat is--but where does this use come from?  I looked it up, and instantly remembered--it's from an expression "bats in the belfry."  Of course, the next question is "what's a belfry?"  Well, it's the place in the tower of a  church (called "steeple") where the church bell is--and where there are bats.

So saying a person has"bats in the belfry" means they have bats, not brain, up above.