“admiral. Technically, all admirals come from the Arabian desert, for the word can be traced to the title of Abu Bakr, who was called Amir-al-muminin, "commander of the faithful," before he succeeded Muhammad as caliph in 632. The title Amir, or "commander," became popular soon after, and naval chiefs were designated Amir-al-ma, "commander of commanders." Western seamen who came in contact with the Arabs assumed that Amir-al was one word, and believed this was a distinguished title. By the early 13th century, officers were calling themselves amiral, which merely means "commander of." The d was probably added to the word through a common mispronunciation.”
“Adidas. The popular running shoes, famous since marathons became popular in the late 1970's, bear the name of their German inventor and manufacturer Adi Dassler.”
“adlib. Deriving from the Latin adlibitum, at will, ad lib means to speak words or perform actions not in a script or speech being used. Ad libitum was first recorded in 1705.”
“Afghanistan. Afghanistan is named after the biblical King Saul's grandson. Afghana, according to legend, which has traditionally described the Afghanistan people as Ben-i-Israel, "Children of Israel." Legend also has it that King Solomon' (Sulaiman) settled the country. Whether such stories, and many more, are true or not, they are widely believed, and the country does bear Afghana's name.”
“Africa. The Romans may have named this continent Apricus, meaning "sunny," which became the English Africa. But Africa, according to my correspondent Professor Howard Marblestone, "probably derives from the Afri, a name centered in the Carthagonian realm...”
“aftermath. The after mowth, which later came to be pronounced "aftermath," is the second or later mowing, the crop of grass that springs up after the first hay mowing in early summer when the grass is best for hay. This term was used as early as the 15th century, and within a century aftermath was being applied figuratively to anything that results or follows from an event.”
“afterward. The Saxons called the stern of a boat the aft and their word ward meant "in the direction of." Thus aftward meant "toward the rear of a ship," or "behind." Over the years, the word aftward changed in spelling to afterward and came to mean "behind in time," "later on," or "later.”
“againbite [agenbite] of inwit. James Joyce revived the expression agenbite [againbite] of inwit in Ulysses. it is a good example of Anglo-Saxon replacements of foreign words, meaning the "remorse of conscience" and originally being the prose translation of a French moral treatise (The Ayenbite of Ynwit) made by Dan Michel in 1340.”
“agate; agate type; aggie. In ancient times colored stones were often found near the Achates River in Sicily. The river gave its name to these pretty stones, or gems, as they were called. Because they were small, the stones gave their name to a small printing type, agate type, that is still used widely today. This type is called ruby in England but has been agate type in America since 1871. The marbles called aggies are so named because their coloring resembles agate.”
“agave. Any of several southwestern plants with tough, spiny sword-shaped leaves. Named for Agave, daughter of the legendary Cadmus, who introduced the Greek alphabet, the large Agave genus includes the remarkable century plant (Agave americana), which blooms once and dies (though anytime after 15 years, not after 100 years, as was once believed). Introduced to Europe from America in the 16th century, this big agave is often used there for fences. It is regarded as a religious charm by pilgrims to Mecca, who hang a leaf of it over their doors to ward off evil spirits and indicate that they have made the pilgrimage.”
“absurd. This word for ridiculous, foolish, or irrational comes to us from the world of music, as the original meaning of its Latin ancestor, absurdus, was "out of tune or harmony.”
“abyss. Abyss is one of the few English words that derive from Sumerian, the world's first written language, which evolved some 5,000 years ago in the lower Tigris and Euphrates Valley of what is now called Iraq. The word came into English in the late 14th century from the Latin word abyssus, meaning "bottomless, the deep," but has been traced ultimately to the primordial sea that the Sumerians called Abzu. Another word with Sumerian roots is Eden, the word for the lost paradise that came into English from a Hebrew word.”
“accolade. In medieval times men were knighted in a ceremony called the accolata (from the Latin ac, "at," and collum, "neck"), named for the hug around the neck received during the ritual, which also included a kiss and a tap of a sword on the shoulder. From accolata comes the English word accolade for an award or honor.”
“aardvark; aardwolf. Both these animals dig in the earth for termites and ants, the former somewhat resembling a pig, the latter looking a little like a striped wolf. Thus the Boers in South Africa named them, respectively, the aardvark (from the Dutch aard, "earth," plus vark, "pig") or "earth pig," and aardwolf, or "earth wolf.”
“Abderian laughter. Inhabitants of ancient Abdera were known as rural simpletons who foolishly derided people and things they didn't understand. Thus these Thracians saw their name become a synonym for foolish, scoffing laughter or mockery. Though proverbially known for their stupidity, the Abderites included some of the wisest men in Greece, Democritus and Protagoras among them.”
“aborigine. William Hone, in his Table Book (1827-28) says that aborigine "is explained in every dictionary...as a general name for the indigenous inhabitants of a country. In reality, it is the proper name of a peculiar people of Italy, who were not indigenous but were supposed to be a colony of Arcadians." Nevertheless, these people of Latium were thought by some Romans to have been residents of Italy from the beginning, aborigine, which gave us the Latin word aborigines for the original inhabitants of a country.”
Follow BukRate on social networks Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Pinterest. We update the best quotes every day! Join and share more with friends.
