Under \UHN-der\
Preposition: Beneath
Adverb: Below, lower, beneath
Adjective: Lower in position or degree; on the underside
Verb Phrase: Go under
Prefix: Signals subordination, situation beneath something else, of a lesser extent, or insufficiency
The origin of under is Old English under, which comes from Proto-Germanic *under- from Proto-Indo-European *ndhero- ("lower"). The Old English word could carry the sense of "subordination" (like underling), as well as be used as a preposition meaning "between, among" (as in under these circumstances). It was also used as a prefix as it is today.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Hmmm...
UPDATE: They're baaaaack! It must have been a Friday the 13th trick on us bloggers...
How fitting that peevish is now the last post on LLL...
Apparently Blogger has been having some issues lately and posts from 5/11 on are gone. Hopefully it's temporary. If not, I'll be highly peeved considering I had a nice long post about month names in Old English.
How fitting that peevish is now the last post on LLL...
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| ...that pretty much sums it up |
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Day
Day
The origin of day is Old English dæg ("day" or "lifetime") from Proto-Germanic *dagaz, which derived from Proto-Indo-European *dhegh-. In English, the original meaning was "the daylight hours" and wasn't extended to "the 24-hour period" until late Anglo-Saxon times.
Despite their similarities, day is not considered a relative of Latin dies.
In Old English, the days of the week were:
Sunday: Sunnandæg - "The day of the Sun"
Monday: Monandæg - "The day of the Moon"
Tuesday: Tiwesdæg - "The day of Tiw (Tyr)"
Wednesday: Wodnesdæg - "The day of Woden (Odinn)"
Thursday: Þunresdæg - "The day of Thunor (Thor)"
Friday: Frigedæg - "The day of Frige, or love"
Saturday: Sæterndæg - "The day of Saturn"
In case you are unfamiliar with the pronunciation of the Old English alphabet, here's some help:
Æ/æ - sounds like 'a' in cat
Þ/þ - sounds like 'th' in thick
Ð/ð - sounds like 'th' in those
G/g - sounds like 'j' in jeans
The origin of day is Old English dæg ("day" or "lifetime") from Proto-Germanic *dagaz, which derived from Proto-Indo-European *dhegh-. In English, the original meaning was "the daylight hours" and wasn't extended to "the 24-hour period" until late Anglo-Saxon times.
Despite their similarities, day is not considered a relative of Latin dies.
In Old English, the days of the week were:
Sunday: Sunnandæg - "The day of the Sun"
Monday: Monandæg - "The day of the Moon"
Tuesday: Tiwesdæg - "The day of Tiw (Tyr)"
Wednesday: Wodnesdæg - "The day of Woden (Odinn)"
Thursday: Þunresdæg - "The day of Thunor (Thor)"
Friday: Frigedæg - "The day of Frige, or love"
Saturday: Sæterndæg - "The day of Saturn"
In case you are unfamiliar with the pronunciation of the Old English alphabet, here's some help:
Æ/æ - sounds like 'a' in cat
Þ/þ - sounds like 'th' in thick
Ð/ð - sounds like 'th' in those
G/g - sounds like 'j' in jeans
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Month
Month
The origin of month is Old English monað from Proto-Germanic *mænoth-, which is related to *mænon- ("moon"). A month as a unit of time based on the cycles of the moon was invented by the Mesopotamians, but there is evidence that humans have been counting days relative to the moon since the Paleolithic age.
Before adopting the Julian calendar, English speakers in Britain followed this 12-month calendar:
1st month: Æfterra Geola - "After Yule"
2nd month: Solomonað - "Sun Month"
3rd month: Hreþmonað - from the divinity Hrepe
4th month: Eastermonað - from the divinity Eostre (probably where the word Easter came from)
5th month: Ðrimilcemonað - "Cow Milking Month"
6th month: Ærra Liþa - "Before Liþa"
7th month: Æfterra Liþa - "After Liþa"
8th month: Weodmonað - "Weed Month"
9th month: Haligmonað - "Holy Month"
10th month: Winterfylleð - "Winter Month" (first full moon of winter)
11th month: Blotmonað - "Sacrifice Month"
12th month: Ærra Geola - "Before Yule"
It is unclear when exactly English speakers adopted the Julian calendar, but it was certainly no earlier than 45BCE, because that's when it was invented. There are clues in the etymologies of the modern English months because they are based on the names of the Julian calendar months: Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis (later Iulius), Sextilis (later Augustus), September, October, November, December, Intercalaris (used only in leap years).
It appears the we adopted September first, and an exact first attestation is not pinned down. Many of the other month names were adopted between 1000AD and 1100AD, and the rest by the late 14th century.
In September 1752 Great Britain and its dominions adopted the Gregorian calendar, which is the internationally recognized civic calendar toady.
For more calendar-related info, see Calendopedia.com
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| source |
The origin of month is Old English monað from Proto-Germanic *mænoth-, which is related to *mænon- ("moon"). A month as a unit of time based on the cycles of the moon was invented by the Mesopotamians, but there is evidence that humans have been counting days relative to the moon since the Paleolithic age.
Before adopting the Julian calendar, English speakers in Britain followed this 12-month calendar:
1st month: Æfterra Geola - "After Yule"
2nd month: Solomonað - "Sun Month"
3rd month: Hreþmonað - from the divinity Hrepe
4th month: Eastermonað - from the divinity Eostre (probably where the word Easter came from)
5th month: Ðrimilcemonað - "Cow Milking Month"
6th month: Ærra Liþa - "Before Liþa"
7th month: Æfterra Liþa - "After Liþa"
8th month: Weodmonað - "Weed Month"
9th month: Haligmonað - "Holy Month"
10th month: Winterfylleð - "Winter Month" (first full moon of winter)
11th month: Blotmonað - "Sacrifice Month"
12th month: Ærra Geola - "Before Yule"
It is unclear when exactly English speakers adopted the Julian calendar, but it was certainly no earlier than 45BCE, because that's when it was invented. There are clues in the etymologies of the modern English months because they are based on the names of the Julian calendar months: Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis (later Iulius), Sextilis (later Augustus), September, October, November, December, Intercalaris (used only in leap years).
It appears the we adopted September first, and an exact first attestation is not pinned down. Many of the other month names were adopted between 1000AD and 1100AD, and the rest by the late 14th century.
In September 1752 Great Britain and its dominions adopted the Gregorian calendar, which is the internationally recognized civic calendar toady.
For more calendar-related info, see Calendopedia.com
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Mausoleum
Mausoleum \maw-suh-LEE-uhm\ or \maw-zuh-LEE-uhm\ , noun;
1. A stately or magnificent tomb
2. A burial place for the bodies or remains of many individuals, often of a single family, usually in the form of a small building
3. A large, gloomy, depressing building, room, or the like
This word dates to 1546 from Latin mausoleum ("magnificent tomb") from Greek Mausoleion, which was a massive marble tomb at Halicarnassus. It was built in 353BC for a Persian satrap* named Mausolos, who made himself king of Caria. It was built by his wife/sister Artemisia and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Mausoleion was destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages, but the site and some remains can still be seen in Bodrum, a town in Turkey.
*Satrap was the Persian term for the governor of a province in the ancient Median and Persian Empires. It was also adopted by the Sassanid Empire, the Hellenistic empires, and maybe others. Satrap is still used to a limited extent today, mainly in literature.
1. A stately or magnificent tomb
2. A burial place for the bodies or remains of many individuals, often of a single family, usually in the form of a small building
3. A large, gloomy, depressing building, room, or the like
 |
| The first Mausoleum (source) |
This word dates to 1546 from Latin mausoleum ("magnificent tomb") from Greek Mausoleion, which was a massive marble tomb at Halicarnassus. It was built in 353BC for a Persian satrap* named Mausolos, who made himself king of Caria. It was built by his wife/sister Artemisia and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Mausoleion was destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages, but the site and some remains can still be seen in Bodrum, a town in Turkey.
*Satrap was the Persian term for the governor of a province in the ancient Median and Persian Empires. It was also adopted by the Sassanid Empire, the Hellenistic empires, and maybe others. Satrap is still used to a limited extent today, mainly in literature.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Peevish
Peevish \PEE-vish\ , adjective;
1. Cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent
2. Showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood
3. Perverse or obstinate
Defined "perverse, capricious, silly," peevish (formerly peyvesshe) dates to the late 14th century and is of uncertain origin. It may be modeled on Latin perversus ("reversed, perverse"), which is the past participle of pervertere ("to turn about"). Pervertere is a combination of per- + vertere ("away" + "to turn"). Vertere ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-Europen *wert- ("to turn, wind") from the base *wer- ("to turn, bend").
Peeve is a back-formation from peevish that dates to 1908. Pet peeve dates to 1919.
1. Cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent
2. Showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood
3. Perverse or obstinate
Defined "perverse, capricious, silly," peevish (formerly peyvesshe) dates to the late 14th century and is of uncertain origin. It may be modeled on Latin perversus ("reversed, perverse"), which is the past participle of pervertere ("to turn about"). Pervertere is a combination of per- + vertere ("away" + "to turn"). Vertere ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-Europen *wert- ("to turn, wind") from the base *wer- ("to turn, bend").
Peeve is a back-formation from peevish that dates to 1908. Pet peeve dates to 1919.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Apartheid
Apartheid \uh-PAHRT-heyt\ or \uh-PAHRT-hahyt\ , noun;
1. In the Republic of South Africa: A rigid policy of segregation of the nonwhite population
2. Any system or practice that separates people according to race, caste, etc.
The word apartheid was first attested in 1929 as an Afrikaans word for a South African socio-political concept. The official policy of racial segregation began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. Apartheid is literally "separateness" from Dutch apart + heid ("separate" + "-hood"). It is first attested in English 1947 in reference to the situation in Africa. Officially the English synonym is separate development, but that wasn't coined until 1955 and apartheid is definitely still used.
On November 30, 1973 the United Nations defined apartheid as "inhumane acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them." In 2002 the international community deemed it similar to crimes against humanity.
1. In the Republic of South Africa: A rigid policy of segregation of the nonwhite population
2. Any system or practice that separates people according to race, caste, etc.
The word apartheid was first attested in 1929 as an Afrikaans word for a South African socio-political concept. The official policy of racial segregation began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. Apartheid is literally "separateness" from Dutch apart + heid ("separate" + "-hood"). It is first attested in English 1947 in reference to the situation in Africa. Officially the English synonym is separate development, but that wasn't coined until 1955 and apartheid is definitely still used.
On November 30, 1973 the United Nations defined apartheid as "inhumane acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them." In 2002 the international community deemed it similar to crimes against humanity.
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