How Did It Get Its Name? Did you ever wonder how something got its name? I decided to look into this and found it interesting. I am going to start with the biggest thing there is, the universe. The word universe comes from the old Latin word universus which means combined into one. This seems to be a very fitting name for something which contains everything. One of the most mysterious objects in our world are the pyramids we are finding in all different countries. Did you ever wonder why we call them pyramids and not something else like triangles or some such thing? The word pyramid comes from the ancient Greek word pyramis. The Egyptians called them Mer. Pyramis were pointy topped wheat cakes. It is strange when you think about this name having stuck. When the Apache people arrived in the Southwest, they called themselves Inde or Dine. The translation was the people. It is thought the word Apache came from the Zuni word apachu which meant enemy. We as Americans like to talk about liberty, but do we know how it got its name? I didn’t and had to look it up. It comes from the Latin libertas which comes from the goddess Libertas who portrays liberty along with the Roman god Liber. We all get annoyed by flies at one time or another. They could have gotten a much worse name than fly. It is believed the name comes from the Proto-German word fleugon, which meant flying insect or the Old High German word flioga also meant the same thing. There is some disagreement however, and some think it came from the Old Norse fluga which also means fly. When we get into our cars, I bet we never think where the word car comes from, I know I don’t. It is thought it could have come from two places. One being the Latin term carrus or carrum. This meant wheeled vehicle. The other is the Old North French carre which meant two-wheeled cart. It seems the Roman Latin language had a heavy influence on the English language. If we look at the word animal we find it comes from the word animalis. This word meant having breath or soul. Did the Romans really believe animals had a soul? While the Romans were quick to kill animals for sport, some were used for worship. Some word origins can’t be decided on and there are several choices for their origin. Take the word influence for example. It could come from late Middle English, Old French or Medieval Latin. It didn’t mean the same as it does today. It meant flowing matter. By the 13th century the meaning changed to mean imperceptible or indirect actin exerted to cause changes, but it took three more centuries to make it into English. Lately we have heard the word terrorist or terrorists many times in the news. This is said to be a rather easy one to trace the origin of. It came in the form of a translation of the word used in the Reign of Terror and referred to those people who were against the French Revolution. The Reign of Terror was called la Terreur. The word death made a couple of stops before it came into the English language. The Proto-Indo-European word was dheu which meant the process, act, condition of dying. The Proto-German adapted it to be dauþuz and the Old English changed it to deaþ. The þ is an old letter which is now only used by the Icelandic alphabets, and in some translations. When we hear the word music it is said to come from the ancient Greek which was mousike and meant (art) of the Muses. Extraterrestrial is a sort of strange word. Believe it or not, the Romans had words that fit this word. One word was extra, which is the same as we use and meant outside or outwards, and the other is terrestris, which meant earthly or relating to the earth. The Romans also had a word for alien, it was alienus and meant not related by blood, a foreigner and lander. Did you ever wonder where the word computer came from? I am afraid we have to credit the Latin language again. The Latin word was computare. That was extremely close to what it is now and meant to count, to think or to sum up. A very fitting word for a computer. The word conquer comes from the Middle English and French word conquerre which was based on Latin conquiere. In Latin in meant gain or win. In French it meant the same, but in Middle English it meant acquire or attain. Let’s try a more modern word. What was the origin of the word whistleblower? It became a well-used term in the 19th century because the police used a whistle to alert the public of a crime being committed. The whistle was also used to summon other police. Today some people apply the term to people who existed well before that time. It is also used to describe people who talk about hidden topics. Another fascinating word is quantum. The word comes from the Latin quantus, which meant how much, how many, how big. The word is said to go back even further but I can’t list it because most of the word uses unknown letters from the Proto-Indo-European times, but these words meant the same as the Latin. Science is another interesting word which has a long history. It is related to the ancient Greek word episteme, which meant knowledge. It is also related to the Latin word scientia, which also meant knowledge. Today science means the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained. As you can see the definition for science has been expanded tremendously. How about the word politics, we have been immersed in it too much lately. This word goes way back. It is said the study of Politics can be traced back to at least 384 B.C. if not further. The word is said to come from the ancient Greek word Polis, which meant the city state. It had to do with dealing with the affairs of these city states. It is said Aristotle introduced it in his classic work Politika. The word movie is said to have a much more modern beginning and comes from the phrase moving pictures and is said to have come into use in 1912. It looks like we owe the Romans a debt of gratitude for contributing so much to our language.
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