words wholly related -or- words wholly unrelated

junior etymologists from across the information super highway have very kindly sent me their own list of words that may or may not be related to other words. here are the best of them.

• my ex-lover’s ex-lover, matt langer writes to tell us that shebang (a nerdy mark for for unix nerds) and interrobang (a nerdy mark for grammar nerds) are wholly related through banging—where bang is slang for the exclamation point!

• my current union rep, billiam dalto has informed me that mosaic and mosaic (with a capital m) are wholly unrelated. the former, meaning “the juxtaposition of colours and patterns,” comes from the latin word, mosaicus and is related to the word muse. the latter is an eponym for christendom’s own wily muse—moses malone.

• my færie godfather, albert jorgenson had clued me into an etymological hat trick: host, host and host are wholly unrelated. host in the ecclesiastical sense means “sacrificial victim” and comes from the latin word, hostia. host in the riders of rohan sense (a company of armed men) comes from the latin word, hostis. And host in the sense of the farmer that feeds you fried chicken and strawberry rhubarb pie and lets you doggystyle his daughter in a hayloft comes from the latin word, hospes.

trivia tuesday

what landmark statue, erected in 1885 was the first sight that immigrants (and anyone else) entering new york harbor would gaze upon?

hint: this is not a trick question. also, the predecessor of this statue resides in my hometown.

answer

trivia tuesday

name an animal whose body is not symmetric.

after consulting with elaine benes, you can find a very unsymmetrical animal here.

words wholly unrelated

counsel & council

they are pronounced the same and have overlapping meanings yet they are from two totally different latin words. the former is from consulere (to consult), the latter is from concilium (assembly).

concerning butterflies

i thought i would write a post today that didn’t involve freaky sex terms or raw fraternity boy potty humor… and so, like nabokov, i turned to butterflies! but then i came across this factoid [alert: it has the potential of (figuratively) spoiling your butter]:

• butterflies were so named because butter was thought to be similar in both colour and consistency to butterfly excrement.

oh boy! my first dog was named snickers for similar reasons. again, i have verified the etymology but not the semblance.

1moretime: THEY ARE CALLED BUTTERFLIES BECAUSE THEY POOP BUTTER!!!!!!!!!

words wholly related

pork chops & porcelain

both are ultimately from the latin porcus meaning pig. porcelain chinaware was so named because of its resemblance to the cowrie “porcella” shell. the porcella shell was so named because of its apparent resemblance to she-pig pudenda.

note: while i HAVE verified the etymology, i have NOT verified the visual similarity.

further note: yet.

it's that time again

ever since my casio® digital watch got stuck on the 24-hour clock, so did i. like the american military (and everyone else in the world (including the portugese)) i dig its clarity°. one thing that i have always found confusing is determing if noon is 12:00 am or 12:00 pm. according to sticklers—it isn’t either. noon is the ONLY time on the dial that is neither before nor after midday—it IS midday.

stylewise, if it is not possible to write noon, a preferred way to note this time in the 12-hour system is:

12:00 m.

no joke.

ø, denmark

is a real place. imagine all the hours of your life you will save when writing down your address as a little null set sign. also: quiffins live there!

middling talents

certain writers elect to go by their middle name. usually this is because the mafia forced them to do it or a company holds a copyright for their first name and threatens to take them to court. other times it is because of medical conditions like 1. dyslexia or 2. chronic boogers. whatever the reason, here is a list of these individuals and their actual first names.

• (william) somerset maugham
• (henry) graham greene
• (samuel) dashiell hammet
• (henry) charles bukowski
• (harry) sinclair lewis
• (mary) flannery o’connor
• (dillard) mills baker
• (paul) thomas mann
• (adeline) virginia woolf
• (nicole) harper lee
• (joseph) rudyard kipling
• (clarence) malcolm lowry
• (frederick) ogden nash

should you ever find yourself in the sack with any of the people in the list above, you now know the proper word to holler.

also: i have been slowblogging the pulp outta my source. if lists and literature are your thang, then you might want to consider buying this book from your local bookstore or shoplifting it from barnes and/or noble.

UPDATE (9/10/2009):

• (arthur) evelyn (st. john) waugh

my world of warcraft nom de guerre

kennings have been on m’mind ALL WEEK. here is a tasty little trivia-nugget brimming with kick-ass eths and thorns regarding recursive kennings »

The longest kenning found in skaldic poetry occurs in Hafgerðingadrápa by Þórður Sjáreksson and reads nausta blakks hlé-mána gífrs drífu gim-slöngvir “fire-brandisher of blizzard of ogress of protection-moon of steed of boat-shed”, which simply means “warrior”.

words wholly unrelated

cleave & cleave

both are pronounced the same. both are spelled the same. and each is the opposite of the other (cleave means “to separate”; cleave means “to stay together”). they each come from completely different old english words (cleofan & clifian respectively).

words wholly related

testicle & testify

both are from the latin word testis meaning witness or evidence. to testify is to give evidence and a testicle is evidence of one’s virility.

words wholly related

eucalyptus & apocalypse

both derive from the greek word καλυπτειν (to cover). eucalyptus is a tree that covers well and the apocalypse is the ultimate uncovering (or revelation).