The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language (37 page)

Writers

1. Little Richard’s husband =
   Charles Dickens
   Charles
   is from the German
   karl
   , which meant either
   man
   or
   husband
   .
   Dickens
   is a diminutive of
   Dick
   , which is short for
   Richard
   .
   
2. Good Christian =
   Agatha Christie
   Agathos
   was ancient Greek for
   good
   .
   Christie
   means Christian.
   
3. Virile wonder =
   Andrew Marvell
   Andreios
   was ancient Greek for
   manly
   .
   Marvell
   means marvel.
   
4. Pants-maker in a peaceful land =
   Geoffrey Chaucer
   Geoffrey
   comes from the Latin
   Gaufridus
   , which in turn comes from the Old German
   gewi
   , land, and
   fridu
   , peaceful.
   Chaucer
   is from Old French
   chaucier
   meaning
   man who makes
   chausses
   .
   Chausses
   could refer to almost anything worn on the lower half of the body.
   
5. Tiny foreign snake =
   Evelyn Waugh
   Evelyn
   is a double-diminutive of
   Eve
   , so it’s
   tiny Eve
   . In the Bible,
   Eve
   –
   hawah
   – is said to come from Hebrew
   havah
   ,
   she who lived
   ; however, this looks rather like a folk etymology and the word is suspiciously similar to
   haya
   , which is Aramaic for
   serpent
   .
   Waugh
   probably comes from
   wahl
   , which is the Old English for
   foreigner
   .
   

Now, a quick trip around the capital cities of the world. Can you make out the modern names from the original meanings? For example, if I were to say
Place of the Bad Smell
, you would immediately realise that I was referring to the Objibwa
Shika Konk
, which developed into our
Chicago
. To make it guessable, we shall stick to capital cities.

Europe

Merchant harbour

Place by an unfordable river

Wisdom

Smoky bay

Black pool

Africa

Three cities

Victorious

New flower

The place of cool waters

End of an elephant’s trunk

Asia

Muddy confluence

Modern

Garden

Anchor

Father of a gazelle

The Americas

Good winds

I saw a mountain

Peace

Place of many fish

Traders

And the answers are:

Europe

Merchant harbour – Copenhagen

Place by an unfordable river – London

Wisdom – Sofia (although Athens is named after Athena, goddess of wisdom, so give yourself half a pat on the back for that)

Smoky bay – Reykjavik

Black pool – Dublin

Africa

Three cities – Tripoli

Victorious – Cairo

New flower – Addis Ababa

The place of cool waters – Nairobi

End of an elephant’s trunk – Khartoum

Asia

Muddy confluence – Kuala Lumpur

Modern – Tehran

Garden – Riyadh

Anchor – Ankara

Father of a gazelle – Abu Dhabi

The Americas

Good winds – Buenos Aires

I saw a mountain – Montevideo

Peace – La Paz

Place of many fish – Panama

Traders – Ottawa

And for those familiar with London, can you guess the Tube Station from its origin?

Forge

Horse pond

Beer gate

Lace collar

Skin farm

Road to Ecgi’s weir

Padda’s farm

Dominican monks

Stream in a sacred wood

Sacred place that welcomes strangers

Forge – Hammersmith

Horse pond – Bayswater

Beer gate – Aldgate (ale gate)

Lace collar – Piccadilly

Skin farm – Hyde Park

Road to Ecgi’s weir – Edgware Road

Padda’s farm – Paddington

Dominican monks – Blackfriars

Stream in a sacred wood – Waterloo

Sacred place that welcomes strangers – Walthamstow

And finally, some multiple choice. What is the true derivation of each of these words?

Clue

a) A ball of yarn

b) A skeleton key

c) A love letter

Karaoke

a) Japanese for
singing under water

b) Japanese for
howling

c) Japanese for
empty orchestra

Slogan

a) An Algonquian prayer

b) A Celtic war-cry

c) Russian for
repetition

Boudoir

a) French for
sulking room

b) French for
gun room

c) French for
Peeping Tom

Grocer

a) One who buys in gross

b) One who grows his own

c) One who is grossly fat

Hotbed

a) A medieval form of torture

b) A Victorian medical treatment

c) A covered flowerbed

Bollard

a) Tree trunk

b) Cricket ball

c) Dr Cornelius Bollard

Kiosk

a) Aztec word for
umbrella

b) Turkish word for
palace

c) Burmese word for
hut

Quarantine

a) Forty days

b) Asking time

c) Pseudo-prison

Bigot

a) Old English for
By God

b) Old French for
thorn

c) Old German for
stone wall

Thesaurus

a) A riddling lizard from Greek mythology

b) A treasure chest

c) The book of Theseus

Beetle

a) Little biter

b) Little bean

c) Little bee

Aardvark

a) Swahili for
grandmother

b) Dutch for
earth pig

c) Croatian for
Jesus

Pundit

a) Hindi for
wise man

b) Irish for
counsellor

c) Eskimo god of riddles

Winging it

a) Flying when the engine has failed

b) Eating only the chicken wings (and not the breast)

c) An actor learning his lines in the wings

Quiz

a) Latin for
who is?

b) Hindi for
unclaimed property

c) Chinese for
escape

The answers:

Clue

a) A ball of yarn

Karaoke

c) Japanese for
empty orchestra

Slogan

b) A Celtic war-cry

Boudoir

a) French for
sulking room

Grocer

a) One who buys in gross

Hotbed

c) A covered flowerbed

Bollard

a) Tree trunk

Kiosk

b) Turkish word for
palace

Quarantine

a) Forty days

Bigot

a) Old English for
By God

Thesaurus

b) A treasure chest

Beetle

a) Little biter

Aardvark

b) Dutch for
earth pig

Pundit

a) Hindi for
wise man

Winging it

c) An actor learning his lines in the wings