2. Every word has some story to tell, and the older the word,
the fuller and more interesting its story. Words are like people-
they are born(sometimes in a distinguished family or sometimes they
have an unknown ancestry) and they die.
3. Few of the old and curious words: Astonish: Comes from the
old French estoner ( from the Latin ex=out) and tonare (to
thunder). Estoner in French means to strike with a thunderbolt This
gave to the English the verb to stun. In medieval times a (d) was
added to the old French form and we have the English verb to
astound
4. Beefeater Beef eater became the popular name for a yeoman of
the royal guard , he was in the happy position of being sure of his
daily ration of beef.
5. Biscuit: Formed from two latin words, bis- coctus Meaning
twice cooked In earlier times was written byskit as the
pronunciation today, but English went back to the french
spelling.
6. Book: From the Anglo- Saxon word boc (a beech- tree).The
erliest books were wooden pieces of beech board on which writings
were scratched. Writan: From which we get the verb to write, meant
to cut or to scratch.
7. Bonfire In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth
countries, bonfires are lit on Guy Fawkes Night . In Canada: In the
province of Quebec, many communities light up bonfires on 24 June
to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. In Australia, bonfires may be
lit to celebrate Commonwealth Day or the Queen's Official Birthday.
In North Ireland, bonfires are lit on the night of 31 October to
celebrate Halloween or Samhain. In Scotland: On the annual rock and
dance music Wickerman Festival. Its main feature is the burning of
a large wooden effigy on the last night; the wickerman. In United
States: In New England, on the night before the Fourth of July,
towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from barrels.
The highest were in Salem, Massachusetts, composed of as many as
forty tiers of barrels; these are the tallest bonfires ever
recorded. The practice flourished in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, and can still be found in some New England towns.
8. Bonfire is a very old word, because it was formerly a bone
fire, were the bodies of the dead were burned after a victory.
9. COCOA-NUT(Coconut) It has nothing to do with cocoa. Is the
name given to the large , brown, hard-shelled nuts from the palm
tree. Coco was a Spanish word for an evil spirit and was used to
frighten children, because of the marks that make it look like an
ugly face. The English travellers borrowed this word and brought it
to England without understanding its meaning.
10. Eleven and twelve Eleven one left Twelve two left Our
ancestors count with their fingers, the sheep or cows coming into
the field, when all the fingers were used up there was still one
sheep left. After ten
11. Fear: is derived from the same word as fare(from the Anglo-
Saxon word faren meaning to go or to journey), and suggests the
dangers of early travel. He fares well, meaning he is making a good
progress. Farewell is an expression of parting good wishes. Also,
from being associated with the dangers of travel in days when wild
animal roamed the forests, fear was used for anything causing
horror and mystery. It wasnt applied to feelings until after Norman
Conquest.
12. Hurricane Hurricanes are frequent in the west Indies and
has been suggested that the word is derived form the hurrying( or
rushing of the storm) and the sugar canes which are uprooted by the
wind. Actually Hurricane is a corruption of the Spanish word
huracan or the French ouragan, and comes from the Caribbean word
for the name of a god of the storm, the greatest of giants The
End
13. Knight: In Anglo-Saxon from meaning boy or youth, came to
mean merely a servant , but now stands for one who holds the
highest honors. Lord and lady are two words that have suffered much
change of form. In Anglo- Saxon they were "hlaf-weard" who was the
man that defended the home and loaf against all enemies. And "hlaf-
dige" who was the woman that made the bread at home.
14. Magazine, came to the English language from the Arabs. The
Arab word meant a warehouse. In the 18th century, there was a
popular paper called the Gentleman's Magazine, and its first number
is described as " a monthly collection to treasure up, as in a
magazine
15. Nickname: was in early days nekename, and before that
ekename, eke being an old word menaing also. Panic: This word was
used only as a noun, but in recent years we have the verb "to
panic", and in conversation the adjective "panicky". This word is
derived from Pan, who was the god of shepherds and the spirit of
nature.
16. Silly: Is an example of a word that has changed its meaning
several times. It formerly meant timely or in good time. From
timely it came to mean lucky or happy. From happy in English it
developed into innocent and then it reach the modern meaning
foolish. Quick: was once an Old English word meaning "living" or
"alive". From being "alive" quick has come to mean anything that
moves rapidly or is done in a short time.
