Tag: French
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Music and monarchs: ‘royal’ roots
Yesterday was a big day for royal titles – in some ways glad, in other ways very sad. Queen Elizabeth reached a momentous 90 while Prince shockingly passed away at 57. Both, it turns out, live up to the etymologies of their names, in a manner of speaking. Queen At 90, Queen Elizabeth II is the UK’s…
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Apostolic what?: It should be Greek to you
At least from what I’ve seen, most news outlets are referring to it as a “document.” Urging priests to show more compassion towards gay, divorced, and unmarried Catholics, Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, or “The Joy of Love,” is technically called a “post-synodal apostolic exhortation,” a name almost as long as its 250-plus pages. A post-synodal…
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Pulling “rabbit” out of the etymological hat
Christianity, in many ways, originates with Easter: Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead is a cornerstone of the faith. The Easter Bunny, most maintain, originates in German folklore involving a rabbit that delivered colored eggs to good little girls and boys. And the holiday’s bunnies, chicks, and eggs, of course, have longed served as symbols…
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Whales, antelopes, monsters, & pigs: a deep dive into the many names for the orca
This week, Sea World announced that it’s ending its controversial captive orca breeding program. Orca, killer whale, blackfish: this inspiring cetacean has known many names in English. Let’s take a deep dive into their origins. Orca Popularly, the orca goes by the “killer whale,” which has been in use, often just as “killer” early on, since the 1720s. In…
Mashed Radish 