Friday 3 October 2014

Take a little peek behind the Latin and the Greek.

Hell fire! Is it really over six months since my last entry? I must be getting lazy! Still, here are some tasty titbits to tittilate your taste buds!

Scientists, intellectuals and inventors have routinely plundered the vast treasure chests that are Latin and Greek to pilfer words that they can use to name their new inventions, ideas and discoveries. Yet how many of us know what they actually mean? Well, here are a few with their literal translation into English. Hope you enjoy wandering through them and maybe you can try them on others and show how damned erudite you are, old chaps (and chapesses).

ocean – swift-flow
television – far-sight
helicopter – screw-wing
bicycle – two-wheel
astronaut - star-sailor
aeroplane - air-wanderer
electricity - amberness
petroleum - rock-oil
automobile - self-mover
telephone - far-voice
monarchy - single-rule
democracy - people-power
omnibus - for-all
aristocracy - best-power
dinosaur - terrible-lizard
oxygen - acid-born
atom - uncut
microscope - small-look
energy - in-work
hydrogen - water-born
geography - earth-writing
psychology - mind-word
archaeology - very-old-word
astronomy - star-law
economy - house-law
technology - art-word
thermometer - heat-measure
philology - love-word
philosophy - love-wisdom
photography - light-writing
autobiography - self-life-writing

That's enough for now, but you should be able to work out some other ones for yourselves. I'll put up some more tasty morsels later. Sooner than six months for definite.

Sunday 30 March 2014

What's (new) in a name - 2?

Another post about how we have shortened forms for out most common and favourite names, like Mick or Mike for Michael, Dave for David and Liz for Elizabeth. These are the "Bs".

Boys

Balthazar: Taz
Barnaby: Bar, Barn, Nab, Bee
Basil: Ill
Baxter: Axed
Benedict: Edict, Kneedick
Benjamin: Jam, Jammy
Bernard: Earner
Blake: Lake, Ache
Bradley: Addle, Rad, Raddle
Brandon: Brand, Ran
Brent: Rent, Wren
Brodie: Bro, Ode, Road, Roadie
Brogan: Bro, Rogue
Bruno: Brew, No, Rune, Uno


Girls

Barbara: Arbour, Bar, Barb
Bailey: Ail, Ale
Beatrix: Ricks, Tricks
Belinda: Belly
Bernice: Ernie
Beverley: Ever, Early
Bianca: Bee, Yank
Brenda: Rend, Wren
Bridget: Bridge, Ridge, Jet

Look out for letter "C"!

Wednesday 12 February 2014

What's (new) in a name?

Been off for a while doing this and that, but as Arnie once said (or more than once, probably) I'm back. So what's up next? I was thinking about names, how we have shortened forms for out most common and favourite names, like Mick or Mike for Michael, Dave for David and Liz for Elizabeth. I thought - why not think of some new shortened forms which have never been used before? So I started researching, and here's the first crop of what will be a regular feature, while the names last, of course. Maybe some of them will catch on, though, somehow, I doubt it. So here goes:

Boys

Abraham: Bra, Ham
Adam: Dam
Ainsley: Sley
Alan: Lan
Alastair: Alas, Last, Stair
Albert: Ert
Amos: Aim, Moss
Andrew: And, Rue
Angelo: Gel, Jello
Anthony: Ton
Archibald: Bald
Arnie: Knee
Arnold: Knoll, Old
Arthur: Thur
Austin: Tin

Girls

Abbey: Bee
Abigail: Big
Adelaide: Del, Deli, Laid
Agnes: Ness
Alice: Lice
Alisha: Leash
Allegra: Leg
Amanda: Man
Amelia: Meal, Eel
Anabelle: Nab
Anastasia: Nastay, Stasi
Angelica: Jelly, Licker
Anita: Neat, Eater
Anneka: Neck, Necker
Annika: Knicker
April: Ape
Astrid: Rid
Aurora: Roar

Look out for letter "B"!