Tag: Indo-European

• What is the “pall” pallbearers bear?

  Muhammad Ali will be laid to rest in his hometown, Louisville, Ky., today. The distinguished boxer will have some distinguished pallbearers for his memorial processional, including actor Will Smith alongside Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, fellow champions in the ring. But what is this pall that they will be bearing? Pallbearer Today, pallbearers carry the coffin…

  John Kelly

  June 10, 2016

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• The travails of “travel”

  Long security lines have been beleaguering travelers across America’s airports, making the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scramble to unlace its shoes, take out its laptop, and bin its personal affects. Travel can be quite the travail – all too painfully true, if we give the word travel an etymological screening. Travel Originally, travel was travail. They were…

  John Kelly

  May 27, 2016

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• The etymological pivot of “pivot”

  All eyes are on Donald Trump to see if he will pivot to a more presidential bearing now that he’s the presumptive nominee of the Republican party. But who am I kidding? All eyes have been on the businessman. My etymological eyes, however, have been on pundits’ and reporters’ go-to term for Trump’s potential repositioning:…

  John Kelly

  May 13, 2016

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• Etymology on the streets

  I haven’t even been settled for a week and I’m already in love with my new city, Dublin. The people and culture are absolutely wonderful, of course, but the etymology is world-class. Even something as simple as taking out my dog surprises me with lexical delights, like this utility marker I noticed on a recent…

  John Kelly

  May 10, 2016

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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…

  John Kelly

  April 22, 2016

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