by Roseanna White | May 21, 2012 | Word of the Week
Every time we go to my mom’s we see the power plant across the river–and every time, my kids ask, “Why’s it called a ‘plant’?” And every time, I go, “Uh . . . ” At one point I made up an answer–and what do you know, I was right! LOL
Plant is from the Latin planta, meaning “sprout, shoot, cutting” which may be from plantare, “to drive in with the feet, push into the ground with the feet.” Which is in turn from planta, “sole of the foot.” By 1550 it moved from its first English meaning of “shrub or newly-planted herb” to any vegetation. The verb “to plant” has been around since Old English, just like the noun.
Now, the building–it is fact from the same idea, meaning a building planted in a particular area for industrial purposes. That usage came into meaning in 1789. And interestingly, the meaning of “a spy” is from 1812. =)
by Roseanna White | May 14, 2012 | Word of the Week
My kiddos asked me the other week where “mayday” came from, and I finally remembered to look. I ought to have posted this one on May 1st, May Day (ha . . . ha . . . ha . . .) but didn’t think to.
Mayday, according to “The Wireless Age” from June 1923, is an aviator distress call. It was agreed that just saying the letters SOS wouldn’t do–that was the agreed upon message for telegraph, but it didn’t translate so well to spoken words. The powers that be also decided a simple “Help!” wouldn’t do. So they chose “May Day,” thinking it particularly fitting because it sounds so similar to the French m’aidez (help me).
It has since translated to any radio communication of help, be it in airplanes or boats or whatever.
I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed a wonderful Mother’s Day yesterday, and that those of you who aren’t mothers had a great day with yours. =) We had a really awesome day around here–breakfast in bed, a Xoe-made story, and even a
tea party. Better yet, no fighting between the kids–woot! LOL
by Roseanna White | May 7, 2012 | Word of the Week
Don’t you just love the weekend? That beautiful, sanity-saving time from Friday night until we wake up for work or school on Monday. It’s lovely. It’s brilliant. It’s necessary.
Yet really, it’s kind of new!
The word “weekend” dates back to the 1600s, but it meant, literally, the
end of the week–as in, from after church on Sunday until Monday morning. Which was the only time most people took off from their labors back then. According to
etymonline.com, it took on “general” meaning in 1878. But I’ve looked this up for a story so happen to know that at that point “general” just mean all of Sunday. Folks didn’t yet consider Saturday part of the weekend.
In Downton Abbey (circa 1912) Matthew Crawley says, “And of course we always have the weekends.” To which the dowager Lady Crawley says, aghast, “Whatever is a weekend?” This is a pretty good demonstration of the time, LOL. By the early 20th century, there was more of a traditional weekend–by which I mean, professional businesses closed after half a day on Saturday, and schools had a 5-day week, I believe. But those in lower class jobs would still have only gotten one day off. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that it took on a two-day meaning for everyone.
And as an adjective meaning “on the weekends only” (a weekend retreat, for instance, or a weekend read), dates from 1935.
by Roseanna White | Apr 30, 2012 | Word of the Week
This is a bit silly and short a word, but I was totally surprised to learn it was so new! Well, the word condominium is from 1714, but it carried the meaning of “joint rule or sovereignty” and was word used in politics and international law. Until, that is, in the 1960s it got used to mean a “privately owned apartment” (people would be jointly ruling the building…), at which point that obliterated the original use. I had no clue it was so new in that sense!
Now, as promised last week–a picture of me in my Croquet getup, featuring hat and dress both from Victorian Trading Company. =)
by Roseanna White | Apr 23, 2012 | Word of the Week
An unexpected cold front and winter storm system is moving through the mid-atlantic–we’re only getting rain here, but a few miles to the north and up a few mountains, they’re supposed to get a foot of snow. Yikes!
But of course, that means it’s the perfect day to talk about the word ice. =) I had to look this one up yesterday to see when one of it’s uses came into play, and I was a bit surprised by some of the entries.
Ice in its main meaning has been in the English language forever–no big surprise. As a verb, still speaking of to cover with ice, is from the 1400s. But the confectionery sense arrived in the early 1700s, along with the derivative icing.
Ice Age has been used since 1832, ice cube from 1904. But here’s the one I was looking up–ice has been slang for “diamonds” since 1906. I would have thought it even later than that, but there you go. =) And the most shocking of all–break the ice. I was expecting this to be a more modern addition, but in actuality, the figurative “opening of any attempt” comes from the literal breaking of an ice to free up a passage and has been around since the 1580s! Who knew?
Hope everyone has a wonderful final week of April!
by Roseanna White | Apr 16, 2012 | Word of the Week
There are so many fun phrases involving the word “hand” that I decided it was time to share some. =) I remember several years ago looking up “to know something like the back of one’s hand.” I had a hard time finding it but eventually discovered that it’s from the 1900s, which surprised me. So I had to take that out of the Victorian story . . .
But there are lots of “hand” phrases from way back in the day. It’s had the meaning of “worker” (as in, someone who uses their hands) since the 1580s, and a hired worker since the 1630s. The clock and watch sense is from 1570s.
Yet we didn’t give someone a hand, as in a a round of applause, until 1838.
It was used for the playing cards one person held, and a round in a card game, since 1620.
First hand and second hand information is from the 15th century, following the idea of literally handing information over. On the one hand . . . on the other hand followed by the 1600s, with a notion of weighing something in your hand, or holding two separate things.
Winning something hands down, though, is from the 1830s and is thanks to horse racing–jockeys would release the reins after an easy victory, you see.
Yep, you’ve got to hand it to the word hand (c. 1906 on that one, LOL)–it sure gets around!
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Every time we go to my mom’s we see the power plant across the river–and every time, my kids ask, “Why’s it called a ‘plant’?” And every time, I go, “Uh . . . ” At one point I made up an answer–and what do you know, I was right! LOL
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.