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?