Category Archives: Wednesday Word

Everything Old Is New Again

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Kathy

Latin offers nouns in three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. As you may know, adjectives change their gender endings in order to agree with the noun they’re modifying: bonus puer (good boy), bona puella (good girl), and bonum consilium (good … Continue reading →

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Idiotic Idioms

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Kathy

Idioms are not really idiotic, but they don’t make a lot of sense when taken literally. The two words have a common etymology. Idios in Greek means “one’s own, private, unique.” A Greek idiotes was a private person, that is, … Continue reading →

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Getting at the Heart of Blood Pressure

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Kathy

Fortunately, when nurses take my husband’s or my blood pressure, they simply say it’s good. When the occasional nurse quotes the actual numbers at us instead, we don’t pay much attention. High blood pressure is not among our health concerns. … Continue reading →

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Next Time Won’t You Sing with Me

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Kathy

An abecedarium is an alphabet book, which we more commonly call an ABC book. The origin of the word, dating from the 17th century, is obvious from its spelling. It’s pronounced like the first three letters of the alphabet–ay, bee, … Continue reading →

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Sea Monsters on the Brain

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Kathy

Everybody knows that medical terms, including names for parts of the body, are frequently borrowed from ancient Greek and Latin. Often, the terms derive from what the body part looks like. The tibia, or shin bone, comes from the Latin … Continue reading →

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Viva la Etymology

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Kathy

I just learned about a restaurant whose mission includes “conviviality,” in addition to good food and service. Naturally, the Latin root word came to mind. Vivere is Latin for “to live.” Think of some other -viv- words, and chances are … Continue reading →

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March 1, 2023

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Kathy

March, or Martius, was the Romans’ first month of the year for a long time. Mars received this honor because he was the father of Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus. (Their mother was Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin raped by … Continue reading →

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Keep Calm and Eat Pączki

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Kathy

If you live in the Cleveland area, chances are you’ve heard of pączki (pronounced poonch-kee), fried Polish pastries filled with jam or custard. Pączki means “package,” or, more precisely, “packages,” because pączki is plural. Pączek is the singular form. Cleveland … Continue reading →

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February, St. Valentine, and Goat Skins

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Kathy

The Roman priests called Luperci celebrated the Lupercalia, a fertility and purification festival on February 15 by striking women with goatskin strips called februa. This word gives us the name of our shortest month, as well as its odd spelling … Continue reading →

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Nickname History

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Kathy

What does the word tawdry have in common with the name Ned? Care to hazard a guess? Ned is, in a way, a misunderstanding. According to folk etymology, the name derives from the common usage of Mine Edward as an … Continue reading →

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