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Dictionary of Word Origins

A History of the Words, Expressions, and Clichs


Acrobat. Where did the word acrobat come from?
It is a Greek word which literally means one who goes about on the tips of
his toes and fingers. This is an accurate enough description of acrobatic
dancer-but not of all acrobats.
Bedlam. Why does bedlam mean riotous noise?
Because Bedlam was the name of a London lunatic asylum. About the year
1247 a priory was founded in London called St. Mary of Bethlehem. The
name was soon shortened to Bethlehem -and then Bedlam. Some three
hundreds years later the priory was turned into a house of detention for the
insane-and the wild ravings of its inmates gave bedlam its present
meaning.
Bowdlerize. What is the origin of the term bowdlerize?
Dr. Thomas Bowdler edited an edition of Shakespeare, removing from it
those expressions which cannot with propriety be read aloud in the family.
From this we get the term bowdlerize and the meaning to emasculate by
over-editing.
Boycott. How did the word boycott gets its present meaning?
The nameand its meaningcomes from the first victim of the practice. In
1880 Lord Erne, an absentee Irish landlord, employed as his agent at Lough
mask in Connemara a certain Captain Boycott. Boycott asked such
unreasonable rentals from the tenants that they refused to pay anything at
all. The Irish Land League adopted the practice and began using the phrase,
lets Boycott him meaning, lets do it to him as we did to Captain
Boycott.
Chauvinism. Why do we call exaggerated patriotism chauvinism?

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Because no Nicolas Chauvin, the first chauvinist. Chauvin was a veteran of


the Napoleonic wars whose patriotism and attachment to Napoleon were so
exaggerated that he became ridiculous, even to his companions-in-arms.

Dexterity. How did dexterity come to mean ability?


Dexterity literally means right-handedness. The person who was righthanded was assumed to be able to do thing with ease. The person who was
left-handed would surely botch them up. For this same reason we used the
French gauche, meaning left-handed, to describe an awkward person. We
also use the Latin word for left, sinister. But this we have changed to mean
evil since signs seen on the left side were said to bring ill luck, while those
seen on the right brought good luck.
Filibuster. How did we get the name filibuster for legislative obstruction?
Since the Spanish called a freebooting pirate out to get what he could for
himself a filibustero, a legislator with similar ideas was given this name. The
usual method employed for this purpose by the legislator was to obstruct the
passage of all bills until his demands had been met. So today any legislator
who obstructs legislative procedure is said to filibuster.
Gargoyle. Does the word gargoyle refer to the appearance of these images?
No. Gargoyle is an Old French word and literally means throat. Gargoyles
were originally used as projections from the gutter of a building to carry the
rainwater clear of the walls, and they spurted this drain water through their
throats.
Gerrymander. How did we get the word gerrymander?
Elbridge Gerry, a Democrat, was Governor of Massachusetts in 1812 and had
a Democratic legislature serving with him. In order to secure increased
representation in the State Senate they redistributed the state, dividing it up
so that the Federalist minority would not be able to elect a true percentage of
the legislature. As a result of this a district in Essex County was formed with a
very irregular outline. Benjamin Russell, editor of the Columbian Centinel,
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hung a map of the new districts in his office. Gilbert Stuart, the painter, saw
this map and noticed the peculiar outline of the district in Essex County; he
added a head, wings, and claws to it and exclaimed: That will do for a
salamander. No, said Russell, Gerrymander. Thus, to redistribute a state
to get the maximum possible representation for one party at the expense of
the other came to be called gerrymandering.
Hobsons choice. Where did we get the expression Hobsons choice and its
meaning of no choice at

all?

From Tobias Hobson, who kept a livery stable in Cambridge, England, in the
seventeenth century. Hobson let out his horses only in rotation, saying, This
or none. Hobsons choice is no choice at all.
Lackadaisical. Why do we say a lazy, dawdling person in lackadaisical?
Its a bit of keen psychological observation. The term comes from the
exclamation, lackaday, which means shame on you, day just as though
the day were a person. And since most persons who cry lackaday and
blame the quick passage of time are looking for an excuse for their own lack
of energy, they are lackadaisical.
Laconic. Where does the word laconic come from?
From Laconia the general name for Spartan territory. The Spartans were
noted for their brusque speechthe best example of it being their reply when
Philip of Macedon wrote to their magistrates: If I enter Laconia I will level
Lacedaemon to the ground. The Spartans reply was: If.
Machiavellian. How did the word Machiavellian come to mean evil?
Niccolo Machiavelli of Florence wrote a book called The Prince. It
expounded the art of government and showed how by treachery and other
despicable acts it was possible for a prince to achieve and uphold arbitrary
power.
Martinet. Where did the martinet get that name?
From a commander of the French infantry. In the reign of Louis XIV of France,
General Martinet remodeled the French infantry by instituting very strict
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discipline based upon severe punishmentso severe that the French call cato-nine-tails a martinet, and the English adopted the term as a synonym for
a strict disciplinarian.

Maudlin. What is the reason an over-sentimental person is said to be maudlin?


The term is an impious reference to Mary Magdalenea British pronunciation
of Magdalene being maudlin, as in Magdalene College. Medieval painters
represented Mary Magdalene as having a very doleful face, her eyes swollen
with weeping.
Maverick. Where did stray cattle get the name mavericks?
In Texaswhere, about 1840, one Samuel Maverick began raising cattle.
Maverick failed to brand any of his calveswhich led to wholesale rustling of
Maverick stock. From this, any unbranded animal came to be called a
maverick.
Nemesis. Why do we call something that pursues a man relentlessly his
nemesis?
Because in Greek mythology Nemesis was an avenging goddess who saw
to it that people were punished for their misdeeds. In Greek nemesis really
means remorse.
Ostracize. Why do we say a person whos kept out of a group is ostracized?
The word comes from the Greek ostrakon, meaning a tile. It was the custom
in ancient Greece to send into exile for five or ten years a person whose
power or influence was considered dangerous to the state. This decree of
banishment was effected by taking a vote on the questionand the voting
was done with tiles on which of the persons name was written.
Pedagogue. Where does the word pedagogue come from?
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From the Romans. In Rome, a pedagogue was a slave who took the children
to school, to the theater, and on their outingsalthough he often taught
them as well. The word comes from the Greek paid, meaning child, and
agein, meaning to lead.
Pyrrhic Victory. Why do we call a success gained at too great cost a Pyrrhic
victory?
This Name for a ruinous victory is an allusion to the victories of King Pyrrhus
of Epirus over the Romans about 280 B.C. With a force of 25,000 men, Pyrrhus
met the Romans under the Consul Laevinius at Heracleathe first time that
Greeks and Romans had engaged each other in battle on such a large scale.
In the end, because of his cavalry and elephants, Pyrrhus severely defeated
tremely heavy losses. Rome refused to make peace with the victor and the
following year Pyrrhus again defeated the Romans at Asculumin two
engagements in which he lost most of his army. According to Plutarch, when
Pyrrhus was congratulated on the victory he said, Such another victory and
we are utterly undone.
Quack. Why is a medical charlatan pretending to be a physician called a quack?
Because he boasts of his salves. Quack is really an abbreviation of
quacksalver, which comes from the Dutch kwakzalverand this has this
idea of quacking about ones salves. But the idea behind all these terms is
that the quack is like the duckhe makes a big noise over nothing.
Quibble. Why do we call a petty argument over a minor point quibbling?
The word comes from the Latin Quibus. This is the dative and the ablative of
qui, meaning who or whichand it was used so much in legal documents
and fought over to such an extent by lawyers that it gave us the term
quibble.
Sabotage. Where does the word sabotage come from?
The wordwhich originally meant a willful destruction of machinery by
workmen in industrial disputesis French and is derived from sabot, the
name of the French workmens wooden shoe. When looms were first
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introduced in France the workmen of the mills objected to them and threw
their wooden shoes into the looms in order to put them out-of-order.
Sphinx. How did the sphinx get its name?
The name is Greek and means the strangler. The Sphinx got her name
because, according to legend, she strangled the travelers who could not solve
the riddle she propounded. Though the name is Greek the legend is Egyptian;
and though the Sphinx of the legend it a woman the famous Sphinx statue of
Egypt bears the head of a man.
Supercilious. Why do we call a haughty person supercilious?
Because in Latin super means above and cilium means eyebrow. A
supercilious person goes about with raised eyebrows.?

Tantalize. What is the origin of the word tantalize?


Tantalus was the name of a son of Zeus; he was also a Lydian king. He
made the mistake of revealing the secrets of the gods to the people on earth;
he made the additional mistake of bringing down from Olympus the food and
drink of the godsnectar and ambrosiaand offering them to mortals. As
punishment he was condemned to stand in water up to his chin while right
above his head hung a cluster of luscious grapes. When he got thirsty and
tried to drink the water it receded; when he became hungry and tried to taste
the grapes they moved just beyond his grasp. Thus he was tantalized.
Teetotaler. Where did we get the name teetotaler for a total abstainer?
The word seems to have originated with the doubling of the T for emphasis
but it came into widespread used through its association with a temperance
campaign. Members of a temperance societyperhaps the one organized at
Hector, New York, in 1815pledged themselves to abstain from distilled
spirits. Later, another pledge was circulated which bound the signers to total
abstinence. The two classes of signers were distinguished by the initials
O.P., standing for Old Pledge, and T, for Total Abstainer. The
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movement took hold and spread throughout America and the British Isles
with men signing a TTotal pledge.

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