Category: Uncategorized
-
plumb
Fast Mash Plumb derives from Latin, plumbum, which meant “lead,” possibly from an ancient Iberian language, reflecting the source of lead for Romans and Greeks In construction, a plumb is a string fixed with a weight, often made out of lead, and was used as a reference for vertical lines; thus, out of plumb, among other expressions Nautically,…
-
knot & league
Fast Mash Attested in 1633, a knot measures the speed of ships at one nautical mile per hour, based on the number of knots on the log-line running out of the back of a ship, usually in a time period of half a minute Knot comes from Old English cnotta, itself originating in the Proto-Germanic *knutt-; knit is related…
-
risk, part II
Fast Mash Risk might be rooted in the Arabic rizq, meaning “sustenance,” “provision,” “wages,” “fortune,” ultimately from Persian rozik, “daily bread” Greek origins are also possible, including rhiza, meaning “root” and “rhysis” meaning “deliverance”; Greek might have adopted Arabic rizq as well Last post, we saw some risks taken with the origin of risk. Roads led back to Latin’s risicum, signifying commercial…
-
risk, part I
Fast Mash The ultimate origins of risk are unknown, but many have been suggested The word enters English in the 1660s from French risque, in turn from a similar Italian form based on riscare (to run into danger); this is from postclassical Latin risicum, attested even then in commercial contexts In Romance languages during the Middle Ages, risk appears in maritime…
Mashed Radish 