 Because last week’s post, Wise Women on Protest, got more hits than any Wordmonger post ever, here are some thoughts on the word protest.
Protest showed up in English from Latin through Old French about 1400. It meant a solemn declaration or pledge. It wasn’t until the 1700s that it began to mean a statement of disapproval, but even then, the word hadn’t entered the political arena (it was more of a statement than an action). It was in 1942 that it took on the meaning express dissent in a cultural or political sphere. I find this fascinating. So the Protestants got their label because of their solemn declaration repudiating papal authority as opposed to their expression of dissent. Nuance, you say? At the time, the word protest didn't apply to Quakers arguing against the wars that occurred before 1941. Wow. Nor did it apply to the early suffragettes, abolitionists & prohibitionists. Wow again. Even the Hamlet line, “the lady doth protest too much, methinks” was more about declaring or pledging than stating disapproval. Astounding. When it comes to synonyms for our modern usage of protest, the pickings are slim, but I find these near-synonyms intriguing: objection question complaint criticism fuss revolt outcry grievance gripe disapproval ensure challenge demur dissent squabble May your protests be heard & understood. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Merriam Webster, Word Hippo, Etymonline, the OED, & britannica.com.
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 Ideas to ponder in these trying times: I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change, I’m changing the things I cannot accept. -Angela Davis Responsible dissent is the essence of democracy. -Abigail McCarthy If one is going to change things, one has to make a fuss & catch the eye of the world. -Elizabeth Janeway Don’t agonize. Organize. -Florence R. Kennedy The human race Has climbed on protest. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox The argument of the broken window pane is the most valuable argument in modern politics. -Emmeline Pankhurst If I can not air this pain & alter it, I will surely die of it. That’s the beginning of social protest. -Audre Lord Maybe we weren’t at the Last Supper, but we’re certainly going to be at the next one. -Bella Abzug The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty & well-being. -Emma Goldman I went to jail for eleven days for disturbing the peace. I was trying to disturb the war. -Joan Baez Hmmm. Big thanks to this week’s sources: A-Z Quotes, Philosophy News, Muse Quotes, The New Beacon Book of Quotations by Women, & Adria Mercuri.  Because I had a grand time assembling last week’s balderdash synonyms, here are some more for this week:
Hogwash showed up in English in the 1400s meaning kitchen leftovers reserved for the pigs. By the early 1700s hogwash also meant cheap liquor, & by the late 1700s, inferior writing. By the following century it began to mean balderdash. In the 1920s, malarkey was born in American English meaning lies & exaggeration. Within a couple decades malarkey expanded to mean nonsense. Rubbish showed up in the 1400s meaning waste. It came from an Anglo-French word that has no known source. Within that same century it morphed to also mean nonsense. In 1871 Lewis Carroll coined the word jabberwocky. It originally referred to a mythical beast he invented, the jabberwock. Because the poem was packed with fabulously invented words, jabberwocky has come to mean nonsense. Poppycock was born in American English in 1865, meaning trivial talk or nonsense. It came from a Dutch word combining soft food & poop. Yes, the second part of poppycock is related to caca. And blatherskite came to us in the 1600s from a Scottish word meaning one who talks blustering nonsense. In time it has also come to represent the blustering nonsense such people spout. Any chance you know other words that mean nonsense? Big thanks to this week’s sources: Collins Dictionary, Etymonline, Merriam Webster, the OED, & Dreamstime.  Balderdash showed up in the 1590s, where it initially meant a jumbled mixture of liquors. It soon morphed to mean a senseless jumble of words (perhaps uttered by one who had imbibed in the liquid version of balderdash). Though it is most likely an invented word, it may have come from mixing dash with boulder. Twaddle is idle silly talk or nonsense. It appeared in 1782 from unknown sources, though it may have come from the 1570s word twattle, which had a similar meaning & no known source. The nonsense-speaking sort of drivel has been with us since the 1300s. It appears to have come from the Old English word drivel, to slaver, slobber, or run at the nose. Piffle means ineffective, trifling discourse. Though its source is unsubstantiated, it may have been influenced by the words trifle & piddle. Piffle has been with us since 1847. Hooey was born in American English in the 1920s, meaning nonsense or foolishness. No sources have been identified. Taradiddle is a pretentious statement known by its maker to be untrue. Taradiddle’s sources are hazy at best, though some etymologists wonder whether it may have come from the earlier word diddle, to cheat. Both bunk & bunkum were born about 1900 as abbreviations for Buncombe County, North Carolina. The story is that Representative Felix Walker needed the folks back home in Buncombe County to know he was working for them, but his address to Congress was perceived as twaddle (or perhaps drivel), & was labeled such. May your week be free of all the words considered in this week’s post. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Merriam Webster, Worldwide Words, Etymonline, & Dreamstime.  Happy International Day of Listening. To celebrate, we’ll take a look at the word listen & a synonym or three.
Listen takes up only a third of a page of the OED. Its verb form comes through Old English, High German, & German from a Proto-Indo-European word which meant to hear. Its noun form (as in, “Let’s give a listen”) didn’t show up until the 1780s. Listening plays such a huge role in our culture I’m gobsmacked that listen has hardly any true synonyms. After looking through dozens & dozens, these are the closest I can find, & they’re not very satisfying. Most of them add some nuance that doesn’t belong to the simple word listen, or miss an element inherent in listening. -hear -heed -eavesdrop -overhear -monitor -lend an ear -hark (& hearken) -attend -prick up one’s ears -tune in on -tune in to -concentrate -auscultate -discern -detect In the coming week, may you successfully listen & be listened to. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Etymonline, Merriam Webster, the OED, Word Hippo, & Get Drawings.  Modern American society appears to be ambivalent about learning. We all claim it’s of paramount importance, but oddly, those who excel at it are seldom considered heroes. I find myself wondering whether the concept so many of us really admire and aspire to is that of studying more than learning. To my surprise, the word learn covers only 2/3 of a page of the OED. To be truthful, the entry isn’t fascinating reading. Learn has roots in all the Germanic languages (except for Dutch, for some unknown reason). Ever since it entered English about 900 AD, learn has meant to acquire knowledge. About the most intriguing story learn has to tell us is that back in the 1400s, “I learned him his lesson,” was considered proper English. The word study, on the other hand, is worthy of some study. It covers nearly three pages of the OED. It’s related to studio, student, & etude. Study comes from Latin through French, and originally referred to zealousness, affection, seeking help, & applying oneself. It made its way into English writings when Chaucer employed it in 1374, and has countless shades of meaning. The verb alone includes, but is not limited to these varied nuances: -devotion to another’s welfare -the action of committing to memory -friendliness -an employment, occupation or pursuit -careful observation or examination -a state of mental perplexity -a state of reverie or abstraction -application of mind to the acquisition of learning -attentive reading -desire, inclination, pleasure or interest in something -reflection What a world it would be if we all immersed ourselves in study in all its various meanings. Even that state of mental perplexity can be a great thing. When I’m perplexed about something, it often leads me to, well, further study. What connections do you make with the various meanings of study, or what theories do you have regarding society’s apparent ambivalence regarding this topic? My thanks go out to this week’s sources, Etymonline.com MerriamWebster.com, the OED, & Dreamstime.  Plants can have some great names. Here are a few I’ve been appreciating lately. Sticky willy is a weed also known as bedstraw or galium aparine. Its velcro-like surface sticks to almost anything, thus the name. Europeans in the 1500s believed that sneezing was a fine way to clear the head & a remedy for headaches, so the ptarmica or goose tongue was also known as sneezewort. Folks would dry the leaves & root, grind it to a powder, use it as snuff, & surprise-surprise — sneeze! Thus the name sneezewort. Sneezeweed, (helenium) has no smell at all, but some indigenous American groups used it exactly as Europeans used sneezewort (what is it with humans stuffing things in the their noses?). The pits & leaves of the chokecherry (prunus Virginiana) are poisonous, & the fruit is astringent and face-puckering (thus the name). Many indigenous American groups discovered they could dry the fruit, then process it into multiple tasty dishes — so much that the Ojibwe, Lakota, Dakota, Blackfoot, Cree, & others list the chokecherry as a significantly important food source. The sticky monkeyflower (mimulus aurantiacus) is a native to California. Its resinous leaves give it the sticky bit of its name, while (with a little imagination) its bloom resembles a monkey face. The loquat (eriobotrya japonica) is a fruit tree which became ver popular in the ‘50s & ‘60s. Loquat appeard in English in the 1820s . The name was borrowed from Cantonese word parts meaning rush orange. The kumquat (another fruit tree popular in the ‘50s & ‘60s) also has its roots in China. Kumquat (eufortunella) comes from Cantonese word parts meaning golden orange. Another plant popular in the ‘50s & ‘60s is the plumbago. The name comes from the Latin plumbum, meaning lead. Interestingly, plumbago is also called leadwort. Some argue that the purple-blue flowers of the plumbago are the color of lead. Others claim it earned its name(s) because it was erroneously thought to cure lead poisoning. And still others claim it got its name(s) because it could be used to create a lead-colored dye. As you read this post, hardworking etymologists are plumbing the depths of this important question. Are there any plant names you find amusing or remarkable? If so, you know what to do. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Square Root Nola, Plant Native, Golden Gate National Park, Etymonline, Merriam Webster, Unruly Gardening, Grasproot, & Pngtree.  There’s nothing like a list of idioms. Here’s a list of idioms starting with the word hang. Hang loose Hang back Hang by a hair Hang by a thread Hang a left (or right) Hang around with someone Hang in the balance Hang in there Hang tough Hang on Hang by a nail Hang ten Hang a BA Hang on by one’s fingernails Hang on for dear life Hang on a minute Hang on someone’s coattails Hang on someone’s every word Hang on to someone/something Hang onto your hat Hang up your hat Hang out Hang up your boots Hang someone in effigy Hang someone out to dry Hang together Hang behind Hang fire Hang one’s head Hang one’s shingle Hang up Hang it all There’s apparently a lot of hanging goin’ on. Big thanks to this week’s sources: NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary, The Free Dictionary, Phrase Finder, & Naradna Tribuna.  Robots are getting a lot of air time these days, so why not look into the sources of some related words?
The word robot was born in 1923, meaning mechanical person. It came from a Czech play called Rossum’s Universal Robots, inspired by what the playwright saw as the drudgery of forced labor. Bot wasn’t born until 2000. It’s a simple shortening of robot. The word humanoid showed up in 1871, meaning a non-human creature with human characteristics. Interestingly, the word was reborn in 1906 as the brand of milk — a brand that claimed to be closer to human milk than cow’s milk. Bionic showed up in 1901, referring to the quality of an organism that repeats itself in successive generations. By the early ‘60s bionic became associated with electronic, & by 1976 it burst into new life with the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man. Cyborg first came to life in a 1960 academic paper which suggested that during space travel, humans could be freed from a dependence on machines through osmotic pumps & chemicals that could alter them to live in space. In 1610 the word automaton came to life, meaning a self acting machine. By the 1670s it had picked up the meaning, a human acting mechanically. Interestingly, automaton now means a machine or oragnism which can only act as it is acted on (a bit of a u-turn from its original meaning). The word android came to life in 1837, meaning an automaton that resembles a human. Though the word droid (a shortened form of android) appeared in a 1952 short story, it didn’t really catch on until 1977 when the movie Star Wars hit the theaters. Any thoughts on all these robot-ish words? You know what to do. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Power Thesaurus, Merriam Webster, Etymonline, the OED, & Vecteezy.  Equity is a multi-faceted word. Even after putting aside all the meanings that have to do with money and real estate, equity still has myriad meanings and nuances.
Like many words, equity came through Old French and Latin from Greek. Today, equity typically means the quality of being equal, fair & impartial. But dive a little deeper and we find: -Back in Greece, equity’s great grandparent word meant reasonableness & moderation in the exercising of one’s rights & the disposition to avoid insisting on them too rigorously. -In Latin, equity’s grandparent word maintained the Greek meanings & also meant a quiet & tranquil state of mind, moderation, evenness of temper -The parent word from Old French meant both just or equitable conduct toward others, & uniform relation of one thing to others; equality, conformity, symmetry -in 1300s English, equity meant that which is equally right or just to all concerned -In the 1590s in England equity was defined to mean justice based on the dictates of good conscience, & the system of jurisprudence as to what is fair & what is not Equity’s modern synonyms & near-synonyms include: fairness, impartiality, integrity, objectivity, honesty, fair play, even-handedness, equality, neutrality, uprightness, justice, reasonableness, rectitude, balance, conscientiousness, parity, open-mindedness. I hope this brief, selected history of the word equity gives you things to ponder. Thanks to this week’s sources: Merriam Webster, Word Hippo, Power Thesaurus, Etymonline, Cambridge Dictionary, the OED, & Twinkl. |
I write for teens & tweens, bake bread, play music, and ponder the wonder of words in a funky little town on California's central coast.
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