Word of the Week – Celebrity

by Roseanna White | Jul 7, 2014 | Word of the Week

In the closing scene of The Lost Heiress, my hero is observing that someone has become a bit of a celebrity…so naturally, I had to look it up to make sure that it was in use like that in 1911.

I discovered that celebrity comes directly from the Old French and Latin word that means “a celebration.” Not surprising when you look at the words, right? So from 1400 to about 1600, it means “a solemn rite or ceremony.” Then it shifted to mean “condition of being famous.” Not the person, mind you, but the condition. So a person would have celebrity, they would not be a celebrity.

That “be” meaning didn’t come along until 1849–when it came to mean “a famous person.” So safe for my 1911 speaker, to be sure. Phew! 😉

~*~

On Colonial Quills today, you’ll find a guest review of Circle of Spies and a giveaway with it! The review is written by a reader from Goodreads, and if you enjoyed the book, I’d love it if you’d drop by and chime in! Read the Review & enter to win!

Word of the Week – Sentence

by Roseanna White | Jun 16, 2014 | Word of the Week

I’m so, so happy to be all done working on the old house. Finished up all that on Friday, and spent 12 hours yesterday getting this house back in order and putting away all the stuff we moved over! It feels awesome to know that today will be spent at my computer, not cleaning. And much needed–I have two weeks to turn in The Lost Heiress, and much work to do!.

But for now, our word of the week. =) Ever wonder at the two different meanings of sentence? On the one hand we have the grammatical meaning of a complete thought. On the other, we have a judgment rendered in court.

Interestingly, they both come from the same root. The Latin sententia means “thought, way of thinking, opinion; judgment, decision,” and also “a thought expressed; aphorism, saying.” This led to meaning “an authoritative saying.” From about 1200 on, it was used in this way, applied to any teaching or doctrine.

In the early 1300s, it began to be applied to court decisions. From there, it took on the connotation in the mid-1300s of “understanding; wisdom; edifying subject matter.” Then it shifted into “the subject matter of a book or speech” at the end of the century. And by the middle of the next century, it narrowed down to that idea of “a complete, grammatical thought.”

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Word of the Week – Hazard Symbols

by Roseanna White | Jun 9, 2014 | Word of the Week

While we were in the doctor’s office on Friday, we were musing about the biohazard symbol…and wondering what it meant and how it came to be chosen. So thanks to the wonders of smart phones, my hubby looked it up. 😉

I’m just going to quote directly from the source on this one.

“We wanted something that was memorable but meaningless, so we could educate people as to what it means.” In an article in Science
in 1967, the symbol was presented as the new standard for all
biological hazards (“biohazards”). The article explained that over 40
symbols were drawn up by Dow artists, and all of the symbols
investigated had to meet a number of criteria: “(i) striking in form in
order to draw immediate attention; (ii) unique and unambiguous, in order
not to be confused with symbols used for other purposes; (iii) quickly
recognizable and easily recalled; (iv) easily stenciled; (v)
symmetrical, in order to appear identical from all angles of approach;
and (vi) acceptable to groups of varying ethnic backgrounds.” The chosen
scored the best on nationwide testing for memorability.

Interesting, eh?

I’m fond of this one, LOL. Basically a drawing of a shout, it’s just a warning or hazard sign–a rather generic one, used in Europe when a specific hazard doesn’t fit. So you might see it on a road, for instance. Though apparently some places insist on a description sign posted under it so people know what they’re to be exclaiming about.

And finally…

The skull and crossbones is a rather universal symbol for poisonous material. But because it’s also on the Jolly Roger…and because playing pirates has become so much fun…in the U.S. the good ol’ skull is often replaced with Mr. Yuk, because they’re afraid the above will actually encourage children to play with it. Go figure!

And sheesh, what a bleak post, LOL. But hopefully as interesting to you as it was for me! Now go out and have a hazard-free day. 😉

Word of the Week – Hang

by Roseanna White | Jun 2, 2014 | Word of the Week

A place at which I love to hang out… Seascape by William Trost Richards, 1901

I looked this word up the other day to make sure “get the hang of it” would be an appropriate phrase to use in a book set in 1911–and discovered that there are a plethora of hang uses with surprising elements!

The one in question dates from 1834–and was a primarily American use of the word for a great many years.

But it was the verb usages that surprised me. The “teen slang” sense of hang that means “spend time” dates from 1951–which is about what I’d expect. But did you know that hang out is from 1811?? I had no idea it was so old! And hang around, meaning “idle, loiter,” is from 1830. Another one that was way older than I thought!

Word of the Week – Goose

by Roseanna White | May 19, 2014 | Word of the Week

The honking of a family of geese wandering down to a nearby pond at 5:30 this morning was inspiring, what can I say? 😉

Goose, meaning the water fowl, is not surprisingly old–really old, as old as English. Interestingly, the word’s roots were not only for a goose, but for a swan, and is believed to be imitative on their honking.

From the 1540s onward, it’s carried a meaning of “simpleton” when applied to a person. Gooseflesh or goose skin (goosebumps) are from 1795 (for the skin variety) and 1810. From what I can gather, it comes from how a plucked fowl looks before you cook it. The more modern bumps variety didn’t come around until 1919.

As a verb, to be goosed meant, in 1818, to be jeered, particularly on stage. The, er, “poked in the rear” form of the verb, LOL, is from the 1880s, which is older than I expected!

Goose egg, meaning “zero,” is baseball slang from the 1860s, and to cook one’s goose is from 1845.

“Silly goose” is a favorite expression in our family–good to know where it comes from. 😉

Word of the Week – Shoulder

by Roseanna White | May 12, 2014 | Word of the Week

Okay, so no, I wasn’t just looking up shoulder. 😉 But in looking up the origins of the phrase cold shoulder for my recently-finished Edwardian, I found several of the uses interesting, so I thought I’d share.

Shoulder itself has been in English approximately forever. But did you know the word (which comes from German) is likely related to shield? I sure didn’t.

Then there’s the use that means “side of the road”–that’s from 1933. I suppose that makes sense, because until roads were widened for cars, I’d never heard of any shoulder to them…still, it’s a bit later than I would have thought.

And then there’s cold shoulder. This is what sent me to etymonline.com to begin with, and I’m glad I paused to look it up! The phrase dates from 1816, first from Sir Walter Scott. It actually didn’t indicate a human shoulder, but rather a shoulder of mutton–which was considered a poor man’s dish. Make it cold, and it was an unpleasant dish that you would only serve someone you were put out with or decidedly not welcoming to your home. So to give someone “the cold shoulder” meant to give them something distasteful and insulting, to show you have no regard for them.

Not what I expected from that one, gotta say!