Hi there! Did you know that some words have really interesting and unusual origins? Let’s explore some of these fascinating word stories together!
The word “lemur” comes from the Latin term for “spirits of the dead.” Carl Linnaeus named these animals because they move around at night, much like ghosts or zombies!
The word “muscle” comes from a Latin root meaning “little mouse.” People in the 14th century thought muscles looked like tiny mice moving under the skin.
In the 12th century, a popular Latin love poem called “Pamphilus” was shared widely. This poem gave us the word “pamphlet.”
The word “Yankee” likely comes from the Dutch names “Yan” and “Kees.” It started as an insult but later became a positive term for Americans.
“Hippocampus” is a Greek word for a mythical creature that’s part horse and part fish. The part of the brain called the hippocampus looks like this creature.
The word “berserk” comes from Norse warriors known as “berserkers,” who wore bear shirts. The term combines the Norse words for “bear” and “shirt.”
“Salmon” comes from the Latin word “salmo,” meaning “to leap,” which describes how salmon jump upstream.
The origin of “ketchup” is debated, but it might come from a Chinese word for a fish brine, similar to the sauce we know today.
“Kibosh” might trace back to Ireland, where it referred to a judge’s hat worn during a death sentence, known as “the cap of death.”
The French term “mort gaige,” meaning “death pledge,” gave us the word “mortgage.”
“Aloof” comes from a 1500s English term for “weather gage,” borrowed from the Dutch word “loef,” meaning “the windward side of a ship.”
English explorers thought pineapples looked like pine cones, so they called them “pineapples,” unlike most languages that use “ananas.”
The word “cantaloupe” comes from Cantalupo, Italy, which means “singing wolf.”
“Mayonnaise” is named after Port Mahon in Minorca, captured by the French during the Seven Years’ War.
The word “war” has been in English since the 11th century and comes from a Germanic root meaning “to confuse.”
“Cynic” comes from the Greek “kynikos,” meaning “dog-like,” referring to followers of the philosopher Antisthenes.
“Dunce” originally referred to followers of philosopher John Duns Scotus. Later, it became a negative term as his ideas fell out of favor.
“Lukewarm” is a tautology because “luke” meant warm in Middle English, so it literally means “warm warm.”
“Heresy” comes from the Greek word for “choice.”
The word “apprehend” comes from the Latin “apprehendere,” meaning “to grasp,” whether it’s understanding or arresting someone.
“Jumbo” likely originated from a West African word for “elephant.” It became synonymous with “large” after an elephant named Jumbo was exhibited in London.
In Old English, “wyrd” meant “fate,” which evolved into the word “weird.”
Ancient Romans running for office wore white robes, and the Latin word for “white-robed” gave us “candidate.”
“Denim” comes from “serge de Nîmes,” a fabric from Nîmes, France.
“Jeans” are named after Genoa, Italy, where the fabric originated.
“Nice” comes from the Latin word for “ignorant.”
“Curfew” combines the French words “couvrir” (to cover) and “feu” (fire), meaning “to cover fire.”
“Noon” comes from the Latin “nona hora,” meaning “ninth hour.” It originally referred to 3 p.m. but shifted to 12 p.m. over time.
“Bankrupt” comes from the Italian “banca rotta,” meaning “broken bench.”
In Old English, “knight” meant boy or servant.
The Old English word “wyrm” meant “serpent” or “dragon,” which evolved into “worm.”
“Money” comes from the Temple of Juno Moneta in Rome, where coins were minted.
“Escape” comes from the Latin “ex” (out) and “cappa” (cloak), suggesting someone leaving their cloak behind while fleeing.
The Latin “ambulant” (walking) led to “ambulance,” which originally meant a moving hospital.
“Prom” comes from “promenade,” a formal walk at balls, shortened by Americans in the 19th century.
“Lobster” comes from a Latin word also meaning “locust.”
“Nostril” combines Old English words for “nose” and “hole.”
The French gave us “cider,” originally meaning “strong or alcoholic drink.”
“Senator” comes from a Roman word for “old,” related to “senile.”
“Hearse” comes from an Oscan term for “wolf” and evolved to mean a decorative canopy over a coffin, eventually becoming the vehicle we know today.
Thanks for exploring these weird and wonderful word origins with me! Remember, words can have surprising stories, so keep learning and discovering!
Choose one of the words from the article and create a comic strip that illustrates its origin story. Use your creativity to show how the word evolved into its current meaning. Share your comic strip with the class and explain the story behind the word.
In groups, pick a word from the article and create a short skit that acts out its origin. Use props and costumes to make your skit engaging. Perform your skit for the class and see if they can guess which word you are illustrating.
Choose a word not mentioned in the article and research its origin. Create a presentation or poster that explains the history of the word, including any interesting facts or changes in meaning over time. Present your findings to the class.
Create a set of cards with words from the article on one set and their origins on another. Mix them up and challenge your classmates to match each word with its correct origin. This activity will help reinforce your understanding of the word origins.
Write a short story that incorporates at least five words from the article. Use the words in a way that hints at their origins. Share your story with the class and discuss how the origins of the words influenced your writing.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m John Green, and welcome to my salon. This is Mental Floss on YouTube. Did you know that the word “lemur” comes from the Latin word meaning “spirits of the dead”? Carl Linnaeus, who named the animal, said, “I call them lemurs because they go around mainly by night, in a certain way similar to humans, and roam with a slow pace.” So they’re basically zombies.
And that’s the first of many word origins I’m going to share with you today. “Muscle” comes from the Latin root for “little mouse” because back in the 14th century, people thought that muscles looked like mice living under their skin.
How do you say “fat honey badger” in Latin? In the 12th century, a Latin love poem became very popular in Europe. It was copied many times and passed from person to person. The poem was titled “Pamphilus,” giving us the word “pamphlet.”
“Yankee” started with the Dutch who lived in New York during the 1600s when it was called New Amsterdam. Though the details can’t be confirmed, the word is probably a combination of two Dutch names: “Yan” and “Kees.” This was either an insult that the English colonists called the Dutch or the other way around. The meaning switched and became the positive word for “American.”
“Hippocampus” is the Greek word for a horse-fish hybrid. In classic mythology, these creatures were associated with Neptune. The hippocampus in your brain apparently looks like those sea creatures.
The word “berserk” comes from ancient Norse fighters, also known as “berserkers.” The original term came from the Norse words for “bear” and “shirt,” which is what the berserkers wore.
“Salmon” comes from the Latin word “salmo,” or “to leap.” The origin of “ketchup” is debated, but many believe it came from China. The ancient Chinese used a similar word for the brine that they used to pickle fish, which is connected to ketchup in that they are both liquid-like, food-like phenomena.
Another controversial term is “kibosh,” though most claim it can be traced back to Ireland, where a similar-sounding term referred to “the cap of death,” or the hat that a judge would wear when sentencing someone to death. In the 13th century, the French used the expression “mort gaige,” meaning “death pledge.” This term gave us the word “mortgage.”
“Aloof” came from an English term in the 1500s for “weather gage.” The English borrowed this root from the Dutch, whose “loef” meant “the windward side of a ship.”
Ever wonder why English is the only language that uses “pineapple” rather than some form of “ananas”? “Pineapple” used to be a word for “pine cone,” which is what the fruit looked like to early explorers.
While we’re talking about fruit, the word “cantaloupe” emerged in the 18th century. It’s named after its place of origin: Cantalupo, Italy. The town’s name literally translates to “singing wolf.”
“Mayonnaise” is another food named after a place. The French captured the Island of Minorca during the Seven Years’ War, a victory that was celebrated with the condiment. The island’s capital is Port Mahon, and the suffix “-aise” means “native to.”
“War” has been in the English language since the 11th century. It actually comes from a Germanic root that meant “to confuse.”
In Greek, “kynikos” was a term for followers of the philosopher Antisthenes, but the literal translation is “dog-like.” Anyway, that gave us the word “cynic.”
The word “dunce” is also a reference to philosophy. John Duns Scotus was a philosopher whose teachings were largely religious and influenced the Catholic Church. His followers were called “dunces.” Later philosophers weren’t so impressed with his work, so “dunce” took on a negative connotation.
“Lukewarm” is a tautology. “Luke” meant warm in Middle English, so when we say “lukewarm,” we are saying “warm warm.”
“Heresy” comes from Greek. It meant “choice.”
“Apprehend” comes from the 1300s from the Latin word “apprehendere,” which meant “to grasp.” So when you apprehend, you are grasping meaning or grasping someone in arrest.
“Jumbo” probably was originally the word for “elephant” in a West African language. The word took on the meaning of “large” when an elephant in the London Zoo was named “Jumbo” in the 1860s.
In Old English, “wyrd” meant “fate.” Weirdly, that gave us the term “weird.”
Ancient Romans who were running for office wore white. So, the Latin word for “white-robed” gave us the term “candidate.”
The fabric “denim” originally appeared in Nîmes, France, so it was first called “serge de Nîmes” (or, fabric from Nîmes). But the “serge” soon disappeared, leaving us just with “denim.”
Similarly, “jeans” were named after their place of origin, Genoa, Italy.
“Nice” comes from the Latin word for “ignorant.”
“Curfew” is a combination of two French words “couvrir” (“to cover”) and “feu” (“fire”). So, “curfew” literally means “to cover fire.”
“Noon” comes from the Latin “nona hora,” meaning “ninth hour.” In ancient Rome, noon was actually around 3 p.m. During the 12th and 13th centuries, “noon” slowly came to mean 12 p.m. Presumably, this change was driven by people wanting to eat lunch earlier.
“Bankrupt” is from the Italian term “banca rotta,” literally meaning “broken bench.”
In Old English, “knight” originally meant boy or servant.
The Old English word for worm, spelled W-U-R-M, gave us the word “worm.” But that word came from another Old English word, meaning “serpent” or “dragon.”
The word “money” emerged in Rome because of the Temple of Juno Moneta. The ancient Romans used that temple as a mint because she was a goddess associated with money. “Moneta” came to mean “mint,” and then “money.”
“Escape” came from the Latin “ex” (meaning “out”) and “cappa” (meaning “cloak”). The literal meaning probably comes from the idea that if a person was being pursued, they would disappear, leaving only their cloak behind.
The Latin word for “walking” is “ambulant,” which resulted in “ambulance.” “Ambulance” first meant a moving hospital before it became a more specific term.
The word didn’t refer to an actual wagon carrying the wounded until the Crimean War in the 1850s.
Also in the 19th century, Americans borrowed the word “promenade,” which referred to a formal walk that would occur at balls and was shortened to “prom.”
“Lobster” comes from a Latin word that also means “locust.”
“Nostril” is a combination of the Old English words for “nose” and “hole.”
In the 13th century, the French gave us the meaning of “cider” that we use, but the original terms that it derived from meant “strong or alcoholic drink.”
Ancient Romans gave us “senator,” but before the word had its current meaning, it came from a word for “old” and is a relative of the word “senile.”
Thank you for watching Mental Floss here on YouTube, which is made with the help of all these nice people. Every week we endeavor to answer one of your mind-blowing questions. This week’s question comes from Ross Montgomery who asks, “Where does the term ‘hearse’ (as in, you know, funerals) derive from?”
Thanks, Ross! Now I can tell you about another word origin. “Hearse” comes from the Oscan term for “wolf.” But by the 13th century, it had become a term for decorative candles or a canopy over a coffin.
How? I don’t know, maybe people draped wolves over their coffins. Anyway, eventually the meaning transformed into the “hearse” that we know today.
Thanks again for watching Mental Floss, which, by the way, isn’t just a YouTube series; it’s also a real-life magazine and a store where you can buy great t-shirts. If you use the code “YoutubeFlossers,” you get 15% off. As we say in my hometown, don’t forget to be awesome.
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This version removes any informal or potentially inappropriate comments while maintaining the informative content.
Word – A single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used to form sentences. – The word “democracy” comes from Greek origins and is important in history classes.
Origin – The point or place where something begins or is created. – The origin of the English language can be traced back to Germanic tribes.
Latin – An ancient language of the Roman Empire, which has influenced many modern languages. – Many English words, like “audience,” have Latin roots.
Greek – The language of ancient Greece, which has contributed many words to English. – The word “philosophy” is derived from Greek, meaning “love of wisdom.”
English – The language spoken in many countries, originating from England. – English is a subject that includes studying literature and grammar.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – In history class, we learned about the American Revolution.
Term – A word or phrase used to describe a thing or to express a concept. – The term “renaissance” refers to a period of cultural rebirth in Europe.
Meaning – What is meant by a word, text, concept, or action. – The meaning of the word “liberty” is often discussed in history lessons.
Century – A period of one hundred years. – The 20th century was marked by significant technological advancements.
Culture – The social behavior and norms found in human societies. – Studying different cultures helps us understand the diverse history of the world.
