Teti 1

Origins of English Vocabulary – Etymology Study Pt. I

Caroline Teti, 2012

1. TYPE: (1) California Place Names

Alpine County: This mountainous area in California was founded in 1864 and due to its “alpine character of
the High Sierra region” an “early resident” called this town “Alpine County” because it reminded
her of “her native Switzerland”.
Mt. St. Helena: A Princess Helena de Gagarin, from Russia, christened the mountain “in honor of her patron
saint, Helena, widow of the 4th Century Emperor Constansius Chlorus, and mother of Constantine,
the first Christian Emperor of Rome. St. Helena is renowned in ecclesiastical history as one of the
discoverers of the Cross of the Crucifixion”. She did this “in the course of a visit to Fort Ross in
1841” and it is located in Napa County.
In-ko-pah Gorge: This mountain region is currently home to Highway 80 but it got its name from the Native
American word for “mountain tribes”. Clearly the original Native Americans that were called In-Ko-
Pah resided in this area before the road to Highway 80 was created.
Patterns: I have noticed that all three names were linked to mountainous regions. However, the real
connection between the three is that they were named not for an accurate representation of the
town but for personal/individual motives. For instance, Mt. St. Helena, was given its name because
Princess Helena de Gagarin valued her patron saint, Helena, however the word “Helena” does not
describe a feature on this mountain it is merely an ambiguous name. Also, In-ko-pah Gorge was
given its name because the In-ko-pah Native American tribe initially resided in this area; the name
“In-ko-pah” does not help define the area but it is also a name that means something only to the
founder. Finally, I have noticed that place names most likely are composed by an opinion of what
the region means to the founder but out of context place names do not literally describe the
named area. This very issue is addressed in Plato’s Cratylus in which Hermogenes argues that
different people call the same object by different names because it has variant meanings
depending on the individual. Personally, I think the place names that have a historical reason for
their title are most meaningful and interesting and the cities that are named for random and
insignificant reasons (i.e. Intercourse) are ultimately meaningless and do not allow the current
residents to feel like they are a part of history.
Source: Gudde, Erwin (1998) California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Names. 4th
edition. Berkeley: UC Press.

2. TYPE: (4)
Sympotic: “In this chapter, I look at dancing within the context of two interconnected sympotic themes:
paideia and eros (337)”. This adjective stems from symposium “(n) < Latin symposium < [borrows
from] Greek συμπόσιον , < συμπότης fellow-drinker (compare συμπίνειν to drink together), < σύν
sym- prefix + πότης drinker (compare πότιμος drinkable, ποτόν drink)” (OED) In other words, this
word originated from the ancient Greek word for ‘drink’, ποτόν, and then later was adopted into
the Latin language and that is where the English word, symposium, comes from. Nevertheless,
‘sympotic’ is referring to the drinking parties that were popular in ancient Greece. Sir P. Sidney
first used ‘symposium’ in 1585 in his article referring to Plato’s Symposium (OED).
Threaten: “Mousike may threaten our souls with a pernicious pleasure, divorced from moral content and
knowledge of the good (339)”. This verb comes from “Old English þréat-n-ian, < þréat, threat n. (A
throng, press, crowd, multitude of people; a troop, band, body of men) + -en suffix5 (forming
verbs)” (OED). The word ‘treat’ comes from Latin and eventually (probably by regional
transmission) it became adopted by Old English, “Old English þréat (masculine) (With sense 2
compare Old Norse þraut feminine struggle, labour, trouble) < Old Germanic *þrautoz, -ā, from
ablaut-series *þreut- , þraut- , þrut- (compare Old English þréotan to trouble, weary, Gothic us-
þriutan to trouble, threaten, Old High German ir-drioȥan , Middle High German ver-drioȥen ,
German ver-drieszen , Dutch ver-drieten to trouble, vex; compare Latin trūdĕre to press, thrust)”
(OED). The evolution of this word was fascinating because it started out in Latin to mean “thrust”
then “trouble” and eventually “band of men”.
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Alternate: “Not only does philosophy circumscribe sensory pleasures, it also establishes its own alternate
pleasures (343)”. This adjective comes from “< classical Latin alternātus, past participle of
alternāre” (OED) and this Latin word, alter, means other. The history of this word is fairly simple to
understand because it is heavily influence by the Latin word alter. However, the other part of the
word –nate, must be a popular ending or suffix that has a particular meaning.
Virtue: “The question of dance’s teachability mirrors the traditional Socratic question of the teachablity of
virtue and wisdom (345)”. The noun, virtue, is of Latin orgin: “< Anglo-Norman and Old French
vertu (French vertu, = Italian virtù, Spanish virtud, Portuguese virtude), < Latin virtūt-, virtus
manliness, valour, worth, etc., < vir man” (OED). It initially is constructed by ‘vir’, which means
“man” in Latin, then the adjective, ‘virtus’, meant manliness, worth. Clearly the ancient Romans
were a patriarchal society as the word “virtue” stems from the Latin word for “man”.
Framed: “The text is framed by two erotic spectacles (346)”. This verb is a little more complicated in its
etymology: “Cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian framia to further, advance, benefit,
Middle Dutch vrāmen to be advantageous, profitable, or beneficial, to avail, Old Saxon framōn
(only in the prefixed verb giframōn to accomplish; Middle Low German vrāmen to be
advantageous or profitable, to further, advance, benefit), Old Icelandic frama to further, advance
< the same Germanic base as frame adj.1” (OED). It originated to mean advantageous, however in
this context it is used as a structural term alluding to a literal picture frame.
Sources: Wohl, Victoria. "Dirty Dancing: Xenophon's Symposium." Music and the Muses: The Culture of
'mousikē' in the Classical Athenian City. By Penelope Murray and Peter Wilson. Oxford:
Oxford UP, 2004. 337-63.
OED Online.

3. TYPE: (1) Greek Prefixes Assignment

endo-:
• Endothermic: 1.Characterized by, or attended with, the absorption of heat. Note: this is an
internal chemical reaction as apposed to exothermic which gives off heat (personal note)
• Endosome: n. (a) the innermost part of a sponge
• Endostosis: n. [Greek ὀστέον bone, on the analogy of ἐξόστωσις] an internal growth of bone.
Conclusions: I noticed that from various definitions this prefix seems to mean “within” or “inside”. The
definitions below demonstrate that as they all have descriptions that indicate some sort of
internal nature. Endosome is the inner structure of a sponge, endothermic is an internal chemical
reaction that stores heat and endostosis is the internal growth of a bone. Clearly, the prefix endo-
has a distinct and simple meaning to the ancient Greeks as opposed to para-, my other prefix I
researched.
para-
• parabola: 1.a. A symmetrical open plane curve formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane
parallel to its side; the curve traced by a point whose distance from a given point (the focus) is
equal to its distance from a given straight line (the directrix); a curve that is the graph of an
equation of the type y2 = 2px, or y = ax2, where p and a are constants. Also more fully (now hist.)
• Parallel: 2. Of lines (esp. straight ones), planes, surfaces, or concrete things: lying or extending
alongside each other and always at the same distance apart; continuously equidistant. Also with
to, with. Also applied to a pattern, mechanism, etc., based on such an arrangement.
• paragraph: 1.a. A distinct passage or section of a text, usually composed of several sentences,
dealing with a particular point, a short episode in a narrative, a single piece of direct speech, etc.
Conclusions: This prefix was a little more complex than endo- because it had a variety of different meanings
and words attached to it. For instance, paradox and paradigm have something to do with
“beyond” as discussed in class. However, I choose words that were all somewhat related to
illustrate a different meaning of this prefix. A parabola is a symmetrical curve, parallel lines are
objects that lie side by side each other but never intersect, and a paragraph is a group of
sentences that lie side by side each other and form a narrative. Finally, I decided this group of
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words that are associated with this prefix come to mean “side by side” or “alongside”. This must
be a word in ancient Greek that had multiple meanings and was used for a variety of subjects.
Source: OED Online.

4. TYPE: (1) Suffix Assignment

-ure
• Manicure: 2. The cosmetic treatment and care of the hands and fingernails; an instance of such
treatment, esp. by a manicurist; the state of the hands and fingernails resulting from this
treatment.
• Cure: n.1 1. a. Care, heed, concern. to have (take, do, etc.) no cure of (a thing) : not to care for or
regard it.
• Immature: 2. Not mature; not arrived at the perfect or complete state; unripe.
• Insecure: 1. a. Not sure; wanting assurance, confidence, or certainty; uncertain; without certainty of
(something).
• Endure: II. To last; to suffer continuously.
-ide
• Homicide: killing a person (personal definition)
• Germicide: killing germs (personal definition)
• Matricide: killing a person’s mother (personal definition)
• Suicide: killing oneself (personal definition)

-wered
• Answered: II. 12. To speak or write in reply to a question, remark, or any expression of desire or
opinion; to reply, respond, rejoin; also To reply to an implied question, to solve a doubt.
• Unanswered: Opposite of “answered” (above)
Conclusions: For the language I understand and have studied, Latin, I can see relevant suffixes that carry on
a specific meaning as with –cide, which clearly means to kill. This –cide was picked up from the
Latin verb, caedo, caedere which means to kill. However, an arbitrary suffix that doesn’t seem like
it has a real meaning is –wered, which Muthmann cites only two words that, contain that suffix
(e.g. answered and unanswered). Personally, these suffixes simply indicate a past tense and do not
provide any real meaning to the word as a whole like –cide did. Lastly, there are suffixes that have
various meanings such as –ure. It is difficult to really place a meaning on this suffix because at first
it seems to have a definite meaning because the word “cure” is related to “manicure” because a
manicure is the care of one’s hands. Nevertheless, words such as “immature”, “endure” and
“insecure” all contain dissimilar meanings. Perhaps this is because all these words do stem from
Latin words that have this “ur” placed in the word. For example, maturus, duroare, securis, and
curae all have different definitions but contain this “ur” that was transferred over to English
maybe not necessarily with any specific meaning.
Source: Muthmann, Gustav (1999) Reverse English Dictionary: Based on
Phonological & Morphological Principles. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

5. TYPE: (5)
Animal: The etymology for this word is interesting because the OED does not clearly demonstrate where
the word came from. From taking Latin I would think it originated from the Latin word animalis,
which means animal, however the OED provides a lengthy discussion on the origin of this word. It
shows that it has roots in post-classical Latin and originates from Italian. (An animal rights group
Tuesday objected to the inclusion of exotic animals in a Mumbai zoo, citing its bad conditions.)
Pagan: This word is particularly fascinating because its origin is unclear and is dependent on the usage and
context of the word. Originally in classical Latin, the OED writes that the word paganus meant, “of
the country, rustic” and its historical context “has been argued that the transferred use reflects
the fact that the ancient idolatry lingered on in the rural villages and hamlets after Christianity had
been generally accepted in the towns and cities of the Roman Empire”. Later “the sense ‘heathen’
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arose from an interpretation of paganus as denoting a person who was outside a particular group
or community, hence ‘not of the city’ or ‘rural’”. Eventually in the 4th century “pagan” was deemed
a negative connotation in contrast to Christianity. (If it had been Heathens or Pagons..that had so
Persecuted us.)
Brain Sucker: I stumbled across this word in the OED and could not believe it was actually considered a
word. It reminded me of the compounding technique the ancient Greeks used to create words
which we talked about in class. Anyway this word’s etymology essentially is created from the word
brain and sucker. (Cromek is a perfect brain-sucker, living upon the labours of others.)
Boofy: This word means simple-minded and comes from the word “boofhead”. Boofhead is basically an
adoption of “bufflehead” and “boof, bouff” which to Scots mean stupid or clumsy. Bufflehead is
slang, which comes from the Latin word bufalus or bubalus (OED). (Little Ted was a typical fat,
cuddly, button-eyed bear. The playschool spokesman said ‘He had a nice boofy quality—not very
bright, but well-meaning.’)
Neep: I found this word interesting because it has both Icelandic and Latin origins which are two very
different regions. The word means turnip and the OED writes that it comes from the Latin word
napus and the Old Icelandic word næpa. This is fascinating to me because Icelandic is a very
different language and appears to be completely unlike Latin and yet Icelandic borrowed from the
Latin word for turnip. (She will bash the boat like a bowl of neeps as she sounds.)
Source: OED Online.

6. TYPE: (5)
Reptile: This word is intriguing because it was founded based on a characteristic behavior quality of
reptiles. Originally, the Latin reptilis meant “creeping, crawling” then Old French in 1690 picked up
the word “reptile” to describe the creeping of a fruit that could no longer support itself. After all
its transformations the word reptile is now used to describe an animal family of snakes and
creatures that creepily crawl and squirm around. (Some..thinke that they were so called because
their outwarde forme representeth some such reptile creature.)
Oubliette: Fundamentally this word that now means, “dungeon”, came from the Latin word for
forgetfulness, obliviscor (which we get “oblivious”). It was later adopted in around 1000 in Old
French to define the verb of forgetting (oublier). It is predominately a French word but the reason
of why I found it interesting is because I do not really understand where the dungeon part of the
word came to be. In the OED this word is defined as a secret dungeon; the forgetfulness makes
sense because of the secret element of the word however, I am still unsure of how dungeon is
placed in this word. (There were formerly two or three Obliettes in this castle;..but there are still
several in the Bastille.)
Northern Soul: I always associated this term with the music that was called Northern Soul in the late
1960’s. The OED tells me otherwise, it was not just a general term to categorize music that the
general public used. On the contrary, it was a journalist, Dave Godin, “a columnist for the
magazine Blues & Soul” that coined the word “Northern Soul” in 1971. However, to my knowledge
of music history, the word “northern soul” was used before 1971 thus while Dave Godin was
credited for this word in the OED it is slightly inaccurate. (Maybe there are some who read this in
the Southern part of Britain who find it hard to understand just why I rave so much about the
Northern Soul scene.)
Galanthophile: This word means, “A collector of or expert on snowdrops” and stems from the “ancient
Greek γάλα milk (see galactic adj.) + ἄνθος flower”. Seeing as how snowdrops are a type of flower
this would make sense. However, I am confused as to how the Greek word for milk was added into
the word. Perhaps it is because snowdrops are white and milk is white. Later on in 1753 the genus
of snowdrops was named Galanthus. (Galanthus ‘Merlin’ is one of the snowdrops most treasured
by galanthophils.)
Source: OED Online.

7. TYPE: (5)
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Owie: I just could not believe that “owie” is a word. It comes from the combination of “ow” and the suffix,
“-y”. More interesting about this word is the fact that it originated from a sound reaction to pain.
(It used to be that when Mom kissed owies they really did feel better.)
Bad Eye: When I stumbled across this word I wondered what its definition was and the OED defines it as a
look of disapproval. Anyway, the word comes from the combination of “bad” and “eye” but what
is most fascinating is its origin of a French word for “evil eye”, mauvais œil. (Each one who looks
with a bad eye upon the scholars in this world, his eyes will be filled with smoke in the world to
come.)
Mummer: This word had many different transitions, which give it color. It was first introduced in Middle
Low German and then adopted by Middle Dutch (mommer); later in 1192 the Old French word for
“person who plays dice in a mask” momeor came about and that is where “mummer” most
recently comes from. (Mummer, one who reads, speaks, or sings in a low, indistinct tone.)
Boycott: This is a very paculiar word with a specific origin in which many European languages adopted such
as: French, German and Dutch. It is named after, “the name of Captain Charles C. Boycott (1832–
97), a land agent in Ireland, who was a prominent early recipient of such treatment (with the
encouragement of the Irish Land League) in the autumn of 1880 (OED)”. Anyway, I would have
guessed this word was a combination of two words or had a different origin. (The lineal ancestors
of the Land League ‘boycotted’ the poet.)
Zawn: I choose this word because there really does not seem to be any familiar patterns to it so I was
curious about its origin. The word means cave and its oldest history goes back to ancient Greece
with the word, “στόμα mouth”. Then Middle Breton staffn came to mean palate, which later in
Welsh was picked up as safn and eventually it became sawn in Cornish. It makes sense I would
have never known its origins as I do not know any of these languages! However, I do find it
interesting how the words for “mouth” morphed into the Cornish word for “cove, cave” and then
finally, “zawn”. (A..rock platform commands an impressive view down the serrated length of the
ridge on one side and has a..sheer drop down into a zawn on the other.)
Source: OED Online.

8. TYPE: (2)
A fascinating reading I did was in the section titled “How New Words Arise (43)” because I learned
new information that I never even considered. For example Durkin defines two separate categories of
words, monomorphemic and complex. The monomorphic words are “unanalysable”, if we see them and do
not know their meaning it is unlikely to define them without a dictionary. On the other hand, complex
words you can break into pieces and eventually solve the puzzle of what the word really means (i.e.
closeness, highness). Nevertheless, Durkin explains that languages are changed through travel and speaking
with one another. He offers one theory of the one parent language: proto-Indo-European. This parent
language is thought to have existed due to similar sounding words across different languages and also
similar grammatical patterns.
This theory would make most sense to me if the languages that stem from this one parent
language, were big areas of trade. The reason for this logic is that people from ancient Greece (a popular
trading area) would travel to another port and would speak to merchants. Consequently, the merchants
might hear something in their dialogue and adapt it into their own language. This is the reasoning that
makes sense to me however, the similarities of dialect between two very separated cities is not plausible
for me personally. A lot of the terms in Durkin’s guide I had to look up and sometimes it is challenging to
follow.

Source: Durkin, Philip. The Oxford Guide to Etymology. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011.

9. TYPE: (3)
Plato’s Cratylus is especially brilliant and relevant to this class and my understanding of the origin
of words and associating some sort of logic with that process. I completely agree with Socrates in that
creating words is an art form and should be done with care and deliberate choices, which reflect the
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meaning of the word. Unfortunately I believe Hermogenes may be right as well in the sense that a lot of
modern words are created for no reason at all and with no proper methodology (i.e. zzyxz).
In the Cratylus Socrates brings up Homer and how the gods and humans call the same object by
different names. In addition, the sexism of that time period comes out when Hermogenes says that
Scamandrius is the wrong name for Astyanax and the unwise women must have created that title for him.
Nevertheless, I really was intrigued by Socrates’ argument that letters have particular sounds that make
sense to the meaning of the word and are specifically chosen when creating a word. Also, Socrates proves
that names were crafted according to reason: “I think the earliest men in Greece believed only in those
gods in whom many foreigners believe today—[397d] sun, moon, earth, stars, and sky. They saw that all
these were always moving in their courses and running, and so they called them theous from this thein
‘running’ nature…(1-2)”. This logic makes sense to me and allows the origin of words to be understood and
categorized. However, the English language is such a blend of many languages that Socrates would have a
difficult time persuading Hermogenes of his argument.
Personally, it I find it very critical to remember that language is first a verbal process and then later
evolves into a written word. In this way, the origin of words that communicates well with me and seems
reasonable is creating words based on similar sounds that already have meaning. Consequently, this way of
thinking relates back to Socrates’ argument on the creation of words.

10. TYPE: (6)

Over the past three weeks I have noticed the communal significance a place name can posses
amongst the people living there. The historical background as to where the name came about has the
ability to give meaning and social unification to the town. For instance, if the city was named after a hero
who did something admirable in the past than the people who know the story can relate to one another
and have a sense of belonging. However, this is not the same as with names tied to individuals. For
example, my name is Caroline and even though the story of my name exists it does not define me or
provide any real value to my life. Thus words have dissimilar levels of value to people and the method of
how they identify themselves. There are many people with the same name “Caroline” but they do not
share any other similarities even though their name stems from the same place. I find this psychologically
intriguing that the power of words and their etymology can either be powerful or meaningless depending
on the object in which is given a name.