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The sneaky, slinking roots of “mooch”
Mooch may ultimately derive from an old Indo-European root meaning “darkness” or “silence.” The new White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, drew many people to dictionaries last week for his distinctive surname. Scaramucci is indeed related to scaramouch, “cowardly braggart,” originating as a stock character in Italian comedy and familiar to most of us from Read more.
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Etymology of the day: accolade
#EtymologyOfTheDay: ACCOLADE 1st referred to bestowing knighthood with sword tap on the shoulders. Via French for EMBRACE, lit. TO THE NECK. pic.twitter.com/2njVFmBWvY — John Kelly 🕳️🐇 (@mashedradish) July 24, 2017 m ∫ r ∫ Read more.
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Let the prisoner “talk”: the origin of “parole”
Parole comes from the French for “word” or “speech.” After nine years in prison, OJ Simpson was granted parole on Thursday, releasing him early from his 33-year sentence for armed robbery. Parole comes with a strict set of terms, conditions, and supervision, of course, but it’s grounded, essentially, in the prisoner’s word of honor that Read more.
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Etymology of the day: wilderness
#EtymologyOfTheDay: WILDERNESS goes back to the Old English for WILD DEER, originally any sort of WILD ANIMAL or BEAST. pic.twitter.com/ksMLGGJWP7 — John Kelly 🕳️🐇 (@mashedradish) July 20, 2017 m ∫ r ∫ Read more.
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Etymology of the day: hot dog
#EtymologyOfTheDay: The DOG in HOT DOG began as a wry reference to 19c beliefs that sausages contained, yes, dog meat. #NationalHotDogDay pic.twitter.com/6T8sd6DnBD — John Kelly 🕳️🐇 (@mashedradish) July 19, 2017 A quick note Earlier this year, I was posting short “etymologies of the day” on the blog, a practice that I’ve continued on Twitter. I Read more.
Mashed Radish 