Definition:
or “catsup”:
1) a condiment, usually made from tomatoes, which tastes sweet with a bit of a “bite” (usually from the vinegar component)
2) the (American) spouse of french fries
Description:
The etymology of ketchup actually has several competing theories, namely: the Chinese theory, the “eggplant sauce” theory, the Malay theory, and the European-Arabic theory. The Chinese theory seems pretty strong, we must admit…
In the Chinese theory, it stems from either “kôe-chiap” or “kê-chiap”, both from the Amoy dialect, where it means “the brine of pickled fish or shellfish.”
from http://masterblog.front.lv/category/fun/
As for the “eggplant sauce” theory, ”ketchup” derives from a Chinese word composed of two characters (茄汁), which means “eggplant sauce”. The first character (茄), meaning “eggplant”, is also the root for the word “tomato” and the second character (汁) means “juice” or “sauce.”
The Malay theory states that the English word originates from the Malay word kicap (or, kecap, ketjap), which translates to “fish sauce” – which is borrowed from the Chinese, anyway…
European-Arabic Theory: E.N. Anderson, an American anthropologist, claimed that ketchup comes from the French escaveche, meaning “food in sauce” (imagine… French ketchup!) while culinary historian Karen Hess traced it back to Arabic iskebey, or “pickling with vinegar”.
Blue Label Ketchup 1898, from wiki article
Source:
http://www.nickyee.com/ponder/ketchup.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup
Mar 14
sarahscullyEveryday, Life, Literary drama, english, Literary, playwrights, theater, theft
Definition:
To have attention or credit for an idea taken away from you
Description:
In the early 1700s, English critic and playwright John Dennis devised a new method of simulating the sound of thunder for his play Appius and Virginia. The play was deemed a failure and its run at the Drury Lane Theatre was cancelled but Dennis’s invention caught on and was used in other productions without his permission, prompting him to protest. His exact words are unconfirmed but it is generally accepted that he said something to the affect of: ”They stole my thunder!”
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Mar 10
adminClothing, Life Algonquin, english, Native American, Native American Indian
Definition:
a soft leather shoe, usually made from deerskin, originally made and worn by Native American Indians; often decorated, especially with beads.
Description:
The word moccasin in association with Native American footwear has been adopted by the greater American public but it was never a universally understood word within the different Native American tribes. Moccasin was the word for shoe in the Virginia Algonquian language and was passed into English as a generalization through the encounters early English settlers had with the native community. Captain John Smith of the Jamestown settlement is attributed with noting the translation in his 1612 glossary, ‘mockasins: shoes.’ In actuality, each tribe used words in their own language or dialect to signify shoe/slipper and it is coincidence that has made ‘moccasin’ the lasting word in English. It is more than coincidence and surely a tribute to the beauty of the design and image of the moccasin that it has been preserved as a style of shoe until today and continues to permeate the broader fashion market.
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Mar 10
adminReally Long Words english, latin
Definition:
estimating or judging something as worthless; belittling other’s achievements
Description:
Several Latin stem words strung together as a joke by a student in Eton College in the 18th Century. The list came from a grammar book that listed a Latin word set in which all meant “little or no value.” These words were: flocci, nauci, nihili, and pili (with -fication at the end to make it a noun.)
flocci – floccus (a whisp or piece of wool)
nauci – naucum (a trifle)
nihili – nihilism (nothing)
pili – pilus (a hair)
In essence, they all mean little, nothing, or worthless. And quite obviously, this word is fun because it sets an example of a really long word.
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Mar 07
daveEveryday, Life, Literary american, australian, british, english
Definition:
a fanatically puritanical person
Description:
‘Wowser’ is a delightful word with an interesting background, though its ultimate origin is unknown.
The word first appeared in print in 1899, in the Australian journal Truth, and was instantly popular in Australia. It rapidly spread to New Zealand, where it remains in use, and then eventually arrived in England, possibly brought by the Australian troops who served there during World War I.
The American writer and editor H. L. Mencken liked “wowser” and attempted to introduce it to the United States. He used the word frequently in American Mercury, the literary magazine he edited.
Despite Mencken’s efforts, however, the term never became particularly popular in American English; it is used occasionally, but it never truly caught on.
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Mar 07
daveEveryday, Life english
Definition:
to influence or entice by soft words or flattery
Description:
‘Wheedle’ has been a part of the English lexicon since the mid-17th century, though no one is quite sure how the term made its way into English. (It has been suggested that the term may have derived from an Old English word that meant ‘to beg,’ but this is far from certain.)
Once established in the language, however, ‘wheedle’ became a favorite of some of the language’s most illustrious writers. ‘Wheedle’ and related forms appear in the writings of Wordsworth, Dickens, Kipling, Dryden, Swift, Scott, Tennyson, and Pope, among others.
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