Tag: etymology
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quarantine
As Ebola rages on, you may be hearing a lot of numbers in the news: 1976, marking the year when the virus was first identified Over 7,000, registering the total number of cases documented Over 3,000, the number of lives the outbreak has claimed 21 days, indicating the disease’s incubation period But one number you…
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yes
Scotland may have voted “no” a week ago, but the voice of “yes” was definitely heard. Indeed, etymologically, yes has some strong pipes–and, like aye and nought, not a few tricks up its sleeve. Yes Historically, yes was a stronger affirmation than yea. Perhaps we can compare the yea of old to today’s yep. Yes was also relied upon to answer negative questions: “Don’t you want to see a…
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lexicon valley
I want to take a break for a moment from my own content to share with you some other content that entertains, edifies, and enriches me on a regular basis: Lexicon Valley, a blog and podcast on all things language published by Slate. Perhaps you already know about the enterprise, but if you don’t, I suggest…
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aye
Tomorrow, the people of Scotland will vote “Yes” or “No” to independence from the United Kingdom–or, as some would have it in variously inventive or stereotypical Scotticisms, “Aye” or “Nae.” Last post, we saw that no (nae, in Scottish or northern England dialects) meant more than “no,” etymologically speaking. So, what of aye? Aye Fittingly, the origin of aye lacks consensus, according to…
Mashed Radish 