More
word-related etymologies
English is rich with odd
etymologies. Last week’s post considered three etymologies having to do with
writing or words, & here are a few more.
Most of us recognize that
our words – written & spoken – come with some level of bias. The word bias
showed up in English in 1520 from Old French. It came from the surreptitious
practice of nefarious bowlers who used to weight competitors’ bowling balls so
they wouldn’t roll straight. The inserted weight was known as a bias.
Recently, politicians on
both sides of the aisle have made news due to a very specific use of words
(some would say an overuse of words), the filibuster. Our modern understanding that a filibuster
involves sanctioned legislative
obstruction showed up in 1865, but previous to that, the word referred to pirates. First recorded in 1580, the flibutor
was defined as a West Indian buccaneer,
probably coming from the Dutch word vrijbueter, or freebooter. In the Americas, the term applied to lawless military adventurers before
making its way onto the Senate floor.
A less formal but arguably
important employment of words showed up in English in 1763, originally meaning to drink to each other. Hobnob
was original habnab, most likely from the Old English habban nabban, to have or have not. Just as person A at
the pub might raise a glass to person B, who might raise a glass back to person
A, quickly followed by a repeat of the same, our modern definition of hobnob
suggests the give & take of friendly socializing.
A slightly less friendly
form of hobnobbing comes into play when we bandy words. The word bandy
showed up in English in 1570 from the precursor of field hockey, a game called bandy,
which involved players knocking a ball back and forth with crooked sticks. Bandy
originally meant to strike back & forth,
& in time morphed to mean exchange
blows, then eventually moved into the metaphoric meaning, to exchange verbal blows.
On
another note, if you’d like a free Anne R. Allen audiobook I produced, check
out the link to the left.
Please share any thoughts
on bias,
filibuster, hobnob or bandy in the comments section.
Big thanks
to this week’s sources: Wordnik, Etymonline, Jordan Almond’s Dictionary of Word
Origins, & the OED.
I love that "lawless military adventures" became "sanctioned legislative obstruction". That is too funny. And the origin of bias is fascinating. But then, as you have shown us every week, etymology itself is pretty fascinating!
ReplyDeleteHey Christine,
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by. I'm glad there are other word nerds out there who appreciate this etymology foolishness.
I had the same reaction as Christine to the lawless military adventures=filibusters. So true.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked the word hobnob. Maybe because some of the best cookies in the world are called Hobnobs. They make them in England and they are rich oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate icing. I think they make as good "haves" as as a draught of brew. Very interesting etymology. Makes sense.
As does "bandy". Interesting how we keep an expression long after the words themselves have gone out of fashion.
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you enjoyed the post.