# Etymology



## rubes1

I love finding connections between words in different languages and cultures. What interesting examples can you give? I will begin with some interesting examples:

*Nonchalant and cholent.* *Cholent* is a dish eaten by Jews of European descent. It is a dish of beans, meat, and potatoes that cooks overnight on a very low heat and is eaten on the Jewish sabbath. It comes from the French "chaud" (hot) "lent" (slow). *Nonchalant* also comes from the French "chaud" "lent," as in somebody who doesn't get "hot" "fast," but rather stays cool! 

Another interesting one I learned in a French course some years ago. For those of you who know the details I am forgetting, please fill in: *Vastisas *in French is a fanlight (type of window). When the Germans arrived in France (when, I can't remember?) and saw these windows they said in German "what is this" or "vastisas," as they had never seen this type of window. The windows soon became known by that name!

I love learning this stuff. If any of you have some interesting etymological discussions, please, do share!


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## zaby

rubes1 said:
			
		

> Another interesting one I learned in a French course some years ago. For those of you who know the details I am forgetting, please fill in: *Vastisas *in French is a fanlight (type of window). When the Germans arrived in France (when, I can't remember?) and saw these windows they said in German "what is this" or "vastisas," as they had never seen this type of window. The windows soon became known by that name!


 
A small correction, the word is *vasistas*, which pronunciation is even closer to _was ist das _


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## rubes1

Thanks for the correction Zaby!


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## Hakro

Have you read the thread "Anyone know this story?"* - *there's a couple of etymologies, true and not true.


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## rubes1

No Hakro, I haven't. What is it and do you remember any of the interesting etymologies (true ones)? Please share!


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## Hakro

You'll find it here. There are etymologies for Russia, Kangaroo and some more. 
Enjoy!


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## Ilmo

rubes1 said:
			
		

> No Hakro, I haven't. What is it and do you remember any of the interesting etymologies (true ones)? Please share!


 
Rubes, go to the "Search Forum" and you can find the thread in a few seconds utilizing the title Hakro mencioned.
It is really worth reading.

There is of course plenty of interesting etymologies concerning my mother tongue but I guess they would not amuse persons that do not speak the same language. There is, however, at least one contribution by the Finnish language to (almost) every language of the world - that is the word "sauna". Of course, there are different (and probably also erroneous) conceptions of what the word means in practice, but as far as I know, in English "sauna" is used also as a verb, meaning "to take a bath in sauna"
.
Justamente estoy tratando de convencer a los hispanohablantes que necesitarían también un verbo correspondiente - "saunarse" es mi propuesta para indicar "bañarse en la sauna".


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## rubes1

Thank you Hakro & Ilmo. I read the thread. Very amusing. I am looking for some more, but not just words that were mispronounced and adopted, but words in English (or whatever language, though that's my native tongue) where we overlook the fact that it comes from another language. Since learning Hebrew, I have found so many words in English that actually come from Hebrew if you break down the word. It is unbelievable! Any examples any of you can think of would be welcome. 

Ilmo, when I learn Finnish, we'll discuss Finnish etymology And I had no idea sauna came from Finnish!


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## rubes1

In a linguisitics course I took a few years ago we discussed the fact that the words for "mother" in all languages (if anyone can think of an exception, tell me, at least I can say in all Latin-based and Semitic languages) has the "m" sound in it. My linguistics professor said this was because when the child his being breastfed this is the sound s/he makes! 

Does anybody remember the term in linguistics for words words that are named after the sound they make?


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## Fernando

Onomatopeyas (Spanish, the English term is very close).


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## Outsider

rubes1 said:
			
		

> Does anybody remember the term in linguistics for words words that are named after the sound they make?


Onomatopoeias.


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## Hakro

rubes1 said:
			
		

> In a linguisitics course I took a few years ago we discussed the fact that the words for "mother" in all languages (if anyone can think of an exception, tell me, at least I can say in all Latin-based and Semitic languages) has the "m" sound in it. My linguistics professor said this was because when the child his being breastfed this is the sound s/he makes!


 Finnish is an exception: Äiti.
This might be because of the sound that s/he makes before s/he gets the breast!


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## Outsider

Hakro said:
			
		

> Finnish is an exception: Äiti.


I suspected there might be exceptions. I bet the _m-_ theory only works for the Indo-European language family, and perhaps one or two more.


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## Ilmo

Another Finnish contribution - the letkiss dance.
The dance was developed in Finland in the sixties, as the following excerpt from Wikipedia shows:
*Follow the leader*

A designated leader makes some motions, usually repeating several times, and the rest repeat the motions. In some cases the dancers form a chain or a file. Examples of the latter case are Conga line, Bunny Hop and Finnish dance Letkajenkka. The "Letkajenkka", also known as Letkajenka, Letkiss and Letka-Enka, was a dance craze in Europe during the 1960s. It is an adaptation of Madison, Conga and Bunny Hop dances, played to a Finnish traditional folk dance song.

The letkiss dance does not have anything to do with kissing nor letting. The word is a short of the Finnish word "letkajenkka", meaning actually "schottische in line". (The word schottische, apparently of German origin, is translated into Finnish, except "sottiisi" and "German polka" also with the name "jenkka". And "letka" is simply a kind of line or queue.


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## Fernando

Lieben Gott! So, you are saying the old "Yenka" is Finnish?


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## polaco

rubes1 said:
			
		

> I love finding connections between words in different languages and cultures. What interesting examples can you give? I will begin with some interesting examples:
> 
> *Nonchalant and cholent.* *Cholent* is a dish eaten by Jews of European descent. It is a dish of beans, meat, and potatoes that cooks overnight on a very low heat and is eaten on the Jewish sabbath. It comes from the French "chaud" (hot) "lent" (slow). *Nonchalant* also comes from the French "chaud" "lent," as in somebody who doesn't get "hot" "fast," but rather stays cool!
> 
> Another interesting one I learned in a French course some years ago. For those of you who know the details I am forgetting, please fill in: *Vastisas *in French is a fanlight (type of window). When the Germans arrived in France (when, I can't remember?) and saw these windows they said in German "what is this" or "vastisas," as they had never seen this type of window. The windows soon became known by that name!
> 
> I love learning this stuff. If any of you have some interesting etymological discussions, please, do share!


 
cholent is czulent in polish
But the best ever goes like this:
When Russians came to Paris after first downfall on Napoleon (1813 I guess), the cossacks were hurrying landlords, when waiting for food, shouting "bistro, bistro" which means "faster". And this word became thus international meaning fast food bar.

greetings


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## Ilmo

Fernando said:
			
		

> Lieben Gott! So, you are saying the old "Yenka" is Finnish?


 
That's true though we write it with a J.


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## Fernando

I assumed that. Thanks for the information. I did not even imagine it.


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## Outsider

rubes1 said:
			
		

> I love finding connections between words in different languages and cultures. What interesting examples can you give?


Well, the word _veranda_ seems to have originated in Portuguese and migrated to a couple of other languages. We write _varanda_.


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## Vanda

> but words in English (or whatever language, though that's my native tongue) where we overlook the fact that it comes from another language. Since learning Hebrew, I have found so many words in English that actually come from Hebrew


 
Rubes, you probably know this :


> About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots. In the vocabulary of the sciences and technology, the figure rises to over 90 percent.


 
Here


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## Hakro

I just learned that 'tattoo' (a very international word with slightly different forms) is an onomatopoeic word. It comes from the Polynesian word 'tatau' that means 'knocking' - it's the sound you can hear when tattooing is done with classical methods.


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## Hakro

There are also interesting etymologies in the thread "Name Origins of States and Countries".


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## Ilmo

Outsider said:
			
		

> Well, the word _veranda_ seems to have originated in Portuguese and migrated to a couple of other languages. We write _varanda_.


 
Thanks for the loan - we use it, too, that is, in Finnish, though we write it "veranta".


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## Outsider

Here's an interesting previous thread.


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## rubes1

Thanks Vanda. Yes, I knew English was a mish-mash of languages. 

I just today was thinking of an interesting connection between an English word to the Hebrew. The word "breeches" in English could very well have come from the Hebrew word "berech" which means "knee." I often find connections  between Hebrew and English. I think that since it is a much older language, many words we think come from Latin may actually come from Hebrew, maybe also Aramayic. What do you all think?


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## Fernando

Basque is much older than Hebrew and I doubt very much that many words have arrived to English from Basque.

According to online etymology dictionary:

c.1205, a double plural, from O.E. brec, which was already pl. of broc "garment for the legs and trunk," from P.Gmc. *brokiz (cf. O.N. brok, Du. broek, O.H.G. bruoh, Ger. Bruch, obsolete since 18c. except in Swiss dialect), perhaps from PIE base *bhreg- (see break). The P.Gmc. word is a parallel form to Celt. *bracca, source (via Gaulish) of L. braca. Expanded sense of "part of the body covered by breeches, posterior" led to senses in childbirthing (1673) and gunnery ("the part of a firearm behind the bore," 1575). The Breeches Bible (Geneva Bible of 1560) so called on account of rendition of Gen. iii.7 (already in Wyclif) "They sewed figge leaues together, and made themselues breeches."


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## rubes1

Thanks for checking that out Fernando, though it's difficult for me to understand what all the abbreviations mean.


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## Fernando

You are right.

O.E. = Old English
L. = Latin
Ger. = German
Gen. = Genesys
Celt. = Celtic
c. = circa
Gmc. = Germanic
O.H.G. = Old High German
O.N. = Old Norse

http://www.etymonline.com/abbr.php


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## Outsider

rubes1 said:
			
		

> I just today was thinking of an interesting connection between an English word to the Hebrew. The word "breeches" in English could very well have come from the Hebrew word "berech" which means "knee." I often find connections  between Hebrew and English. I think that since it is a much older language, many words we think come from Latin may actually come from Hebrew, maybe also Aramayic. What do you all think?


That raises an interesting issue. You have to be careful with apparent similarities between languages; they can be spurious!


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