Welcome to The Mad Logophile. Here, we explore words; their origins, evolution, usage. Words are alive; they are born, they change and, sometimes, they die. They are our principal tool for communicating with one another. There are millions of words yet only an estimated 171,476 words are in common current use. As a logophile, I enjoy discovering new words, using them and learning about their origins.
This week is part two of people and places that became words. Tonight we look at places that became words. I think you might be as surprised as I was by a few of them.
Let's get traveling....
After giving it some thought, I decided to go in alphabetical order with these. I hope that's not too boring.
Artesian; Pertaining to a well that has water rising to the surface under natural pressure, without the need of a pump. After Artois, a former province in France, where many such wells were drilled.
Balaclava; A kind of knit cap for the head and neck. Named after Balaclava, Crimea, where the cap was first used during the Crimean War in 1854.
Balbriggan; A knitted, unbleached cotton fabric, used in hosiery and underwear. From Balbriggan, a town near Dublin in Ireland, where it was first made.
Bedlam; Pandemonium. After the popular name/pronunciation of St Mary of Bethlehem, London's first psychiatric hospital.
Bikini; A scanty two-piece bathing suit for women. It was named in the late 1940s when Bikini, an atoll in the Marshall Islands, was in the news because of American atomic-bomb testing that occurred there in 1946.
Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte); A rich chocolate and cherry layer cake. After the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in Germany, where it originated.
Blarney; 1) Flattery. 2) Misleading talk. After the Blarney stone, a stone in Blarney Castle in Blarney village, near Cork, Ireland which, according to legend, gives the gift of the gab to anyone who kisses it.
Bohemian; A Bohemian is simply an artist or littérateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art (Thackary). From French bohemién , from the name of the country from Middle French Boheme "Bohemia," from Latin Boiohaemum , from Boii, the Celtic people who settled in what is now Bohemia. The modern sense is perhaps from the use of this country name since the 15th century in French for "gypsy" (they were believed falsely to have come from there, though their first appearance in W.Europe may have been from there), or from association with Bohemian heretics. It was popularized by Henri Murger's 1845 story collection "Scenes de la Vie de Boheme," the basis of Puccini's "La Bohème."
Bologna; A kind of sausage. Named after its city of origin, Bologna, Italy. A variant spelling (evolving from the common English pronunciation of bologna) is baloney, which, besides denoting the sausage, serves as a slang word meaning "pretentious nonsense."
Boston marriage; An arrangement where two women live together independent of any man's support. Originally used in the 19th century to describe two women living together. These relationships were not necessarily sexual; the existence of platonic Boston marriages was quite common after the loss of men in World War I. Today, the term sometimes describes two women living together without a sexual relationship.
Bronx cheer; A noise made by the mouth and tongue to signify derision. After The Bronx, a borough of New York City.
Calico; 1) A brightly printed coarse cotton cloth. 2) An animal having a spotted coat, especially with red and black patches. From Calicut, former name of Kozhikode, a city in southern India from where this cloth was exported.
Cantaloupe; A variety of melon. Named for its region of origin, Cantalupo, Italy, the Pope's summer residence.
Canary; A small yellow finch prized for its song. From French canarie, from Spansih canario, from Latin Insula Canaria "Canary Island," largest of the Fortunate Isles. Literally, "island of dogs," (canis, gen. canarius) since large dogs lived there.
Canterbury gallop; A broken gait of a horse, between an amble and a gallop. Named for Canterbury, a city in the southeast of England. It has given its name to a few other things, as well. A stand with divisions in it for holding music, loose papers, etc. is a Canterbury ball. The species of Campanula of several varieties, which is cultivated for its handsome bell-shaped flowers. A Canterbury tale, after the tales of Chaucer is any tale told by travelers to pass away the time.
Carrageen or carragheen; An edible seaweed found on the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. Carrageen is the source of carrageenan, used as a thickener and emulsifier. After Carrageen, near Waterford in southeast Ireland.
Champagne; A kind of sparkling wine. Named after the site of its origin, the region of Champagne, France. Legally, no other sparkling wine can call itself a champagne unless it is made in this region.
Cheddar; The single most popular cheese in the world. Named for the Cheddar Gorge area of Somerset in England, where it was first made.
Copper; A common reddish brown metalic element. The word copper goes back through other forms to ancient Latin Cyprium ("Cyprian metal"), referring to Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Currant; a type of bush berry. From raysyn of Curans, "raisins of Corinth," From Anglo-French reisin de Corauntz. The small, seedless raisins were exported from southern Greece. In 1578 the word was applied to an unrelated N. European berry (genus Ribes) due to its resemblance to the raisins.
Denim; A coarse cotton fabric. From the French serge de Nîmes, or "serge of Nîmes", where the cloth originated.
Donnybrook; A brawl, a free-for-all. After Donnybrook, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, where until 1855, an annual fair was held. The Donnybrook Fair was known for its alcohol-fueled brawls.
Doolally; Irrational, deranged, or insane. After Deolali, a small town in western India. British soldiers who had completed their tour of duty were sent here to await transportation home. It was often many months before they were picked up by ships. The boredom and heat drove many a soldier insane.
Duffel; A kind of coarse heavy material, well known for its use in making bags. Now used to describe all bags made in the same style as the originals. Named after the city where the material was originally manufactured, Duffel, Belgium.
Fescennine; Obscene or scurrilous. After Fescennia, a town of ancient Etruria known for its ribald and scurrilous songs sung at festivals and weddings.
Habañero: A very hot roundish chili pepper (Capsicum chinense). From the Spanish (chile) habanero, literally, Havanan chili for Havana, Cuba.
Hessian; 1) A mercenary soldier. 2) Burlap. After Hesse, a state in central Germany. Sense 1 derives from the fact that Hessian mercenaries served in the British army in America during the American Revolution.
Jalapeño; a type of hot pepper. From the Mexican city of Xalapa, from Aztec Xalapan, literally "sand by the water," from xalli "sand" + atl "water" + pan "place."
Jeans; Unisex pants made from a sturdy twilled fabric, usually of cotton. From French jean fustian "fustian (a type of twilled cotton cloth) of Genoa," the city in Italy. Genua from Latin Genua, perhaps from janua "gate," or in ref. to the god Janus.
Jodhpurs; Riding breeches loose above the knees but close-fitting from the knees to the ankles. After Jodhpur, a city in northwestern India.
Kilkenny cat; Refers to anyone who is a tenacious fighter. After Kilkenny in Ireland, source of an old story and limerick. The story has a gruesome root; a group of soldiers (reports vary as to which ones, but definitely not Irish) were stationed in Kilkenny during the period of the 1798 rebellion. As the story goes:
To relieve the boredom in barracks, sadistic soldiers would tie two cats together by their tails, hang them over a washing line to fight and place bets on the "winning" cat. Gambling was contrary to military regulations, the story goes that the soldiers, alarmed by the impending arrival of an officer, released the cats by cutting their tails with a sword. When the officer arrived and inquired about the scene facing him, he was told that two cats had fought each other so fiercely that all that remained were the two stubs of their tails on the ground.
Gruesome, indeed! The inhabitants of County Kilkenny are often referred to as Kilkenny Cats. The County Kilkenny hurling and Gaelic football team are known as the cats and they wear black and amber colors, which are said to resemble the colors of a tom cat.
Laconic; using or involving the use of a minimum of words: concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious. From Greek Lakonikos, from Lakon "person from Lakonia," a district around Sparta. The inhabitants were famous for their brevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If."
Lesbian; A female homosexual. Named after Lesbos, an Aegean island where, in the sixth century B.C., the woman poet Sappho headed a women's society that reportedly engaged in homosexual activity.
Limerick; A humorous, often risque, verse of five lines with the rhyme scheme aabba. After Limerick, a borough in Ireland.
Magenta; bright pinkish-red color. Named after Magenta, Italy.
Martini; A gin cocktail. For Martinez, California, where the precursor to the martini, the Martinez, was developed.
Mazurka; A Polish folk dance. The English word is borrowed from Russian mazurka, an adaptation of Polish mazurek, from Mazury ("Masuria"), a region in Poland.
Muslin; A delicately woven cotton fabric. From French mousseline, from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo "Mosul," city in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where muslin was made, from Arabic al-Mawsul, literally "the joined," a reference to the bridge and ford over the Tigris here. Like many fabric names, it has changed meaning over the years, in this case from luxurious to commonplace. In 13c. Old French mosulin meant "cloth of silk and gold." Now it's a lowly and inexpensive fabric.
Neanderthal; An extinct member of the Homo genus. Named after the small valley of the river Düssel in Germany. Neanderthal is spelled two ways: the old spelling of the German word Thal, meaning "valley or dale," was changed to Tal in 1901. The former spelling is often retained in English and always in scientific names, while the modern spelling is used in German while referring to the valley itself. The first Neanderthal remains were discovered here in August, 1856.
New York Minute; A very short period of time; a moment, an instant. After the alleged frenzied pace of life in New York City where everyone is supposedly impatient and in a big rush. Time gets compressed, so that a ‘minute’ there could take about 30 seconds but most often quite a bit less. In a New York Minute / Everything can change / In a New York Minute / Things can get pretty strange/ In a New York Minute / Everything can change / In a New York Minute— "New York Minute" by Don Henley.
Philadelphia lawyer; A shrewd attorney adept at the discovery and manipulation of legal technicalities. The first useage dates to 1788. Said originally to have been applied to Andrew Hamilton, who obtained the famous acquittal of J.P. Zenger on libel charges in 1735.
"[C]ricket and coaching were after all popular in their day in places besides Philadelphia. It was merely that Philadelphia kept on with them longer than most places. This is a perennial Philadelphia trick, and gives to Philadelphia a sort of perpetual feeling of loss. Philadelphians are always just now getting rid of things that are picturesque, like those gas lamps on the streets, only because everybody else got rid of them long ago." [Nathaniel Burt, "The Perennial Philadelphians," 1963]
Pueblo; An indian village or a small, square building made from mud brick. From Spanish pueblo "village, small town." In reference to the Native American tribe of the American southwest. Their neighbors the Navajo, called them Anasazi, which means "ancestors of the enemies."
Rhinestone; A simulated diamond made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic. From French caillou du Rhin "Rhine pebble," so called because they were first made near Strasburg, on the River Rhine. Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river.
Roman holiday; 1) Enjoyment or satisfaction derived from observing the suffering of others. 2) A violent public spectacle or disturbance in which shame, degradation, or physical harm is intentionally inflicted on one person or group by another. From the Roman practice of honoring war heroes by sacrificing those enemies captured in battle. The prisoners were made to compete in bloody gladiatorial battles while the people of Rome beheld the glorious spectacle. The Romans so loved this "sport" that the days on which they were held were declared holidays.
Rosetta stone; An inscribed granite stone whose inscriptions in hieroglyphics, Demotic and Greek gave the first clues to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Named for Rosetta, Egypt where it was discovered in 1798.
Rubicon; The point of no return. From Rubicon (or Rubico), Latin name for a small river in northern Italy.
Rugby; An English football game. Named after Rugby School, Rugby, England, where the game was developed in the 1820s.
Sardonic; Marked by scorn, mockery, and cynicism. After Sardinia, a large island in the Mediterranean. Eating a Sardinian plant was believed to produce facial convulsions as if in a maniacal laughter.
Serendipity; A happy fortuitous discovery. Coined by Horace Walpole (1717-92); he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip," whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of." The name is from Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka, from Arabic Sarandib, from Sanskrit Simhaladvipa "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island."
Scallion; A small onion. From Anglo-French escalone, from Latin Ascalonia (onion) from Ascalon, a seaport in southwestern Levant in modern day Israel. Cognate with shallot.
Spartan; Of or pertaining to the classical Greek city of Sparta. The area was famed for severity of its social order, the frugality of its people, the valor of its army, and the brevity of its speech. The current meaning, "characterized by frugality or courage," dates from 1644.
Stockholm syndrome; A psychological condition in which the hostage emotionally bonds to their captor. Named after the robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage forfive days in August, 1973. Coined by criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot.
Sybarite; A person devoted to pleasure. Literally "inhabitant of Sybaris," after the ancient Greek town in southern Italy. The wealth of the city in the 6th century BC was such that the Sybarites became synonymous with pleasure and luxury. The modern town of Sibari lies near the ruins of the Greek city.
Tabby; A striped cat. Originally "striped silk taffeta," from French tabis "a rich, watered silk" from Middle French atabis (14c.), from Arabic 'attabiya, from 'Attabiy, a neighborhood of Baghdad where such cloth was first made, named for prince 'Attab of the Omayyad dynasty. It wasn't until 1695 that the word was applied to the cat we all know so well.
Tangerine; Small orange. From tangerine orange "an orange from Tangier," seaport in northern Morocco, from which it was originally imported to Britain. The place name is from Latin Tinge.
Turquoise; A mineral that is valued as a gem. From Old French turqueise, a feminine adjective meaning "Turkish," in reference to pierre turqueise, "Turkish stone." So called because it was first brought to Europe from Turkestan.
Waldorf salad; A salad typically consisting of diced apples, celery, nuts, and mayonnaise. Named after the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City where the salad was first created in 1896.
Waterloo; A crushing or final defeat. After a village in central Belgium where Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle took place. He was decisively defeated there by British and Prussian forces.
Welsh rarebit; A cheese and herb sauce drizzled over hot bread or toast. Probably originating from Welsh peasants.
Vaudeville; Theatrical entertainment featuring a variety of acts such as songs, dances, comedy, acrobatics, magic, pantomime, etc. From Old French vaudevire, a shortening of chanson du Vau de Vire ("song of the Valley of Vire"), from the Vire valley in Normandy where satirical folksongs were popular in the fifteenth century.
Yorkshire terrier; A breed of toy dog. It was developed in the mid-1800s in the former county of Yorkshire, England.
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Now it's your turn... What did I miss?