Whatzat mean? Word origins.

Sweet Bliss · 05-05-2013, 08:51 AM

Have you ever wondered about the original meaning of words?

Who used it? Who started it? What we use it for now?

I find it facinating. Maybe we could learn together about the

Magical World of Words

Here is a help center: http://etymonline.com/

Sweet Bliss · 05-05-2013, 09:07 AM

Okay, I'll start.

goober

To me it means: I care deeply for you, if you are a fur baby I love and adore you, it is a term of endearment, and I use it very sparingly. I find you cute and adorable, and if you are close I will squeeze, hug, kiss you and mess up your hair a little, and yes I will fix it back for you.

Here's what the dictionary says:

goober (n.)
"peanut," 1833, American English, of African origin, perhaps Bantu (cf. Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba "peanut").

who knew?

macele · 05-05-2013, 10:43 AM

groovy (adj.)
1853 in literal sense of "pertaining to a groove," from groove (n.) + -y (2). Slang sense of "first-rate, excellent" is 1937, American English, from jazz slang phrase in the groove (1932) "performing well (without grandstanding.)" As teen slang for "wonderful," it dates from 1944; popularized 1960s, out of currency by 1980. Related: Grooviness.

macele · 05-05-2013, 10:47 AM

December (n.)
c.1000, from Old French decembre, from Latin December, from decem "ten" (see ten); tenth month of the old Roman calendar, which began with March.

The -ber in four Latin month names is probably from -bris, an adjectival suffix. Tucker thinks that the first five months were named for their positions in the agricultural cycle, and "after the gathering in of the crops, the months were merely numbered."
If the word contains an element related to mensis, we must assume a *decemo-membris (from *-mensris). October must then be by analogy from a false division Sep-tem-ber &c. Perhaps, however, from *de-cem(o)-mr-is, i.e. "forming the tenth part or division," from *mer- ..., while October = *octuo-mr-is. [T.G. Tucker, "Etymological Dictionary of Latin"]

Sweet Bliss · 05-05-2013, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macele

groovy (adj.)
1853 in literal sense of "pertaining to a groove," from groove (n.) + -y (2). Slang sense of "first-rate, excellent" is 1937, American English, from jazz slang phrase in the groove (1932) "performing well (without grandstanding.)" As teen slang for "wonderful," it dates from 1944; popularized 1960s, out of currency by 1980. Related: Grooviness.

Ah, Jazz, REAL AMERICAN music!! All the way back to 1932? Thanks Macele!!

I love learning.

PaPa · 05-05-2013, 09:20 PM

Thanks Sweet Bliss for beginning this thread. It sounds like it could be fun learning new things! I looked up Dregs. I always believed it meant undesireables like the phrase "dregs of society". I recently used those particular words in a paper for school to point out the societal view of addicts in their addictions. The site you provided had this to say:

dregs (n.)
c.1300 (implied in surname Dryngedregges), from Old Norse dregg "sediment," from Proto-Germanic *drag- (cf. Old High German trestir, German Trester "grapeskins, husks"), from PIE *dher- (1) "to make muddy." Replaced Old English cognate dræst, dærst "dregs, lees." Figurative use is from 1530s.

'Sediment' or 'to make muddy' would probably be what led to that phrase being used. Another way of saying scum of the Earth.

Sweet Bliss · 05-06-2013, 07:34 AM

Thanks for sharing this info with us PaPa!! I would have never guessed. What an interesting story behind the word. I would think there are lots of "regular" words we have no idea about pertaining to mental health and class issues.

Wow. Brings to mind the class system in India, and the work of Mother Teresa.

Teddybear · 05-06-2013, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweet Bliss

Okay, I'll start.

goober

To me it means: I care deeply for you, if you are a fur baby I love and adore you, it is a term of endearment, and I use it very sparingly. I find you cute and adorable, and if you are close I will squeeze, hug, kiss you and mess up your hair a little, and yes I will fix it back for you.

Here's what the dictionary says:

goober (n.)
"peanut," 1833, American English, of African origin, perhaps Bantu (cf. Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba "peanut").

who knew?

those of us from the south who grew up eating goobers knew its a great thing chocolate covered peanuts

Sweet Bliss · 05-06-2013, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teddybear

those of us from the south who grew up eating goobers knew its a great thing chocolate covered peanuts

YUMMY !!!

Wonder if Peanut M&M's stole that idea??? Hummm.

So, if I call someone a goober, does that mean they are good enough to eat??

Sweet Bliss · 05-07-2013, 04:53 PM

Years ago I called my baby brother Pipsqueak, my mother got angry, told me to look it up.

I did. It meant insignificant person. I loved and adored my baby brother, so I stopped calling him the icky word.

Today I find out, pipsqueak means much more.

http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/pipsqueakwilfred.htm

It's also related to WWI medals awarded in England. And cartoon characters.

I thought it meant cute, little and adorable. I stand by my first assumption.

Love you Pipsqueak!!

Sweet Bliss · 05-23-2013, 09:23 PM

http://verbivore.com/wordpress/

Fadspeak: the unrelenting mix of mimicry and gimmickry. Fadspeak comprises vogue phrases that suddenly appear on everybody’s tongues — phrases that launch a thousand lips. Before you can say, “yada yada yada,” these throwaway expressions become instant clichés, perfect for our throwaway society, like paper wedding dresses for throwaway marriages. Fadspeak clichés lead mayfly lives, counting their duration in months instead of decades. They strut and fret their hour upon the stage of pop culture and then are heard no more.

This website is wonderful, funny and spot on.

puddin' · 06-02-2013, 03:35 PM

•gutted – devastated, disappointed.
•full on – it’s all happening, a lot going on.
•fulla – slang for fellow. usually an old man = an old fulla.
•handle the jandal – a saying that means how you cope with or manage a situation. (not sure how this saying came about..?).

homoe · 08-22-2016, 11:14 AM

Sweet Bliss, are we allowed to use phrases or just single words? IF we can use phrases....

rule of thumb

Origin 1782:The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

The first and original use of the saying is as simple as the words. The thumb was used as a readily available tool of measuring.

It has now been used as a term of commonplace knowledge in a field.

anotherbutch · 08-22-2016, 11:20 AM

Fuckery:

Derived from the word 'fuck', Fuckery is something that is absolute bullshit or utter nonsense.

That which is fucked up.

homoe · 08-22-2016, 11:44 AM

Does anyone know for sure if the origin of "Fuckery" is Jamaican? From what I could find it appears so at least

Sweet Bliss · 08-22-2016, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homoe

Sweet Bliss, are we allowed to use phrases or just single words? IF we can use phrases....

rule of thumb

Origin 1782:The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

The first and original use of the saying is as simple as the words. The thumb was used as a readily available tool of measuring.

It has now been used as a term of commonplace knowledge in a field.

Sure!! It will add to the fun!

homoe · 08-23-2016, 04:44 AM

Go Dutch/Dutch Treat

The expression "Go Dutch" has its origin around 1652-1784, during the English-Dutch wars. Around that period, the English commonly used the word Dutch in a number of expressions to convey a negative feeling. The British considered the Dutch to be stingy and miserly and used the phrases involving the Dutch to imply derogatory remarks.

Go Dutch is generally used when two people out on a date share the expenses incurred.

homoe · 08-24-2016, 05:05 AM

origin:The origin of barking up the wrong tree dates back to early 1800s America, when hunting with packs of dogs was very popular. The term was used literally at first, when wily prey animals such as raccoons would trick dogs into believing they were up a certain tree when in fact they had escaped.

to be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action.

cinnamongrrl · 08-24-2016, 08:47 AM

Omg I'm so happy for this thread!

Word origins have long fascinated me. There was a time when I considered becoming a linguistic anthropologist.

There was a show on cable about the origins of slang. Its interesting to see where our every day lexicon derives from. I was VERY surprised at the origination of y'all.

I will be back to read and post!!

homoe · 08-25-2016, 03:46 AM

Blessing In Disguise

origin of 'a blessing in disguise' is believed to be mid-1700s, however scholars have yet to pin down the first usage of the term. The earliest instance of the term found in print was a 1746 work by English writer James Hervey titled Reflections on a Flower-Garden.

A misfortune that unexpectedly turns into good fortune.

05-05-2013, 08:51 AM	#1
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Whatzat mean? Word origins. Have you ever wondered about the original meaning of words? Who used it? Who started it? What we use it for now? I find it facinating. Maybe we could learn together about the Magical World of Words Here is a help center: http://etymonline.com/

05-06-2013, 07:34 AM	#7
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	That's amazing! Thanks for sharing this info with us PaPa!! I would have never guessed. What an interesting story behind the word. I would think there are lots of "regular" words we have no idea about pertaining to mental health and class issues. Wow. Brings to mind the class system in India, and the work of Mother Teresa.

05-23-2013, 09:23 PM	#11
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	For Logos Lovers http://verbivore.com/wordpress/ Fadspeak: the unrelenting mix of mimicry and gimmickry. Fadspeak comprises vogue phrases that suddenly appear on everybody’s tongues — phrases that launch a thousand lips. Before you can say, “yada yada yada,” these throwaway expressions become instant clichés, perfect for our throwaway society, like paper wedding dresses for throwaway marriages. Fadspeak clichés lead mayfly lives, counting their duration in months instead of decades. They strut and fret their hour upon the stage of pop culture and then are heard no more. This website is wonderful, funny and spot on.

06-02-2013, 03:35 PM	#12
puddin' Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: a genderqueer nuisance Preferred Pronoun?: bitchboi Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: new zealand Posts: 7,120 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,467 Thanked 7,962 Times in 2,340 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	kiwi talk... •gutted – devastated, disappointed. •full on – it’s all happening, a lot going on. •fulla – slang for fellow. usually an old man = an old fulla. •handle the jandal – a saying that means how you cope with or manage a situation. (not sure how this saying came about..?). __________________ be true, be you, be brave.

08-24-2016, 05:05 AM	#18
homoe Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: ..... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle Posts: 38,565 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 20,811 Thanked 33,558 Times in 14,919 Posts Rep Power: 21474890	Barking up the wrong tree............ origin:The origin of barking up the wrong tree dates back to early 1800s America, when hunting with packs of dogs was very popular. The term was used literally at first, when wily prey animals such as raccoons would trick dogs into believing they were up a certain tree when in fact they had escaped. to be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action.

05-05-2013, 09:07 AM	#2
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Okay, I'll start. goober To me it means: I care deeply for you, if you are a fur baby I love and adore you, it is a term of endearment, and I use it very sparingly. I find you cute and adorable, and if you are close I will squeeze, hug, kiss you and mess up your hair a little, and yes I will fix it back for you. Here's what the dictionary says: goober (n.) "peanut," 1833, American English, of African origin, perhaps Bantu (cf. Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba "peanut"). who knew?

05-05-2013, 10:43 AM	#3
macele Member How Do You Identify?: a bold-assed maximus Preferred Pronoun?: she Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: mississippi Posts: 1,066 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,178 Thanked 3,231 Times in 847 Posts Rep Power: 21474850	groovy (adj.) 1853 in literal sense of "pertaining to a groove," from groove (n.) + -y (2). Slang sense of "first-rate, excellent" is 1937, American English, from jazz slang phrase in the groove (1932) "performing well (without grandstanding.)" As teen slang for "wonderful," it dates from 1944; popularized 1960s, out of currency by 1980. Related: Grooviness.

05-05-2013, 10:47 AM	#4
macele Member How Do You Identify?: a bold-assed maximus Preferred Pronoun?: she Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: mississippi Posts: 1,066 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,178 Thanked 3,231 Times in 847 Posts Rep Power: 21474850	December (n.) c.1000, from Old French decembre, from Latin December, from decem "ten" (see ten); tenth month of the old Roman calendar, which began with March. The -ber in four Latin month names is probably from -bris, an adjectival suffix. Tucker thinks that the first five months were named for their positions in the agricultural cycle, and "after the gathering in of the crops, the months were merely numbered." If the word contains an element related to mensis, we must assume a decemo-membris (from -mensris). October must then be by analogy from a false division Sep-tem-ber &c. Perhaps, however, from de-cem(o)-mr-is, i.e. "forming the tenth part or division," from mer- ..., while October = *octuo-mr-is. [T.G. Tucker, "Etymological Dictionary of Latin"]

05-05-2013, 09:20 PM	#6
PaPa Senior Member How Do You Identify?: GQ Butch Daddy Relationship Status: A Very Protective BIG Daddy... Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,657 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 7,597 Thanked 5,871 Times in 1,530 Posts Rep Power: 21474854	Thanks Sweet Bliss for beginning this thread. It sounds like it could be fun learning new things! I looked up Dregs. I always believed it meant undesireables like the phrase "dregs of society". I recently used those particular words in a paper for school to point out the societal view of addicts in their addictions. The site you provided had this to say: dregs (n.) c.1300 (implied in surname Dryngedregges), from Old Norse dregg "sediment," from Proto-Germanic drag- (cf. Old High German trestir, German Trester "grapeskins, husks"), from PIE dher- (1) "to make muddy." Replaced Old English cognate dræst, dærst "dregs, lees." Figurative use is from 1530s. 'Sediment' or 'to make muddy' would probably be what led to that phrase being used. Another way of saying scum of the Earth.

05-07-2013, 04:53 PM	#10
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Years ago I called my baby brother Pipsqueak, my mother got angry, told me to look it up. I did. It meant insignificant person. I loved and adored my baby brother, so I stopped calling him the icky word. Today I find out, pipsqueak means much more. http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/pipsqueakwilfred.htm It's also related to WWI medals awarded in England. And cartoon characters. I thought it meant cute, little and adorable. I stand by my first assumption. Love you Pipsqueak!!

08-22-2016, 11:14 AM	#13
homoe Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: ..... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle Posts: 38,565 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 20,811 Thanked 33,558 Times in 14,919 Posts Rep Power: 21474890	Sweet Bliss, are we allowed to use phrases or just single words? IF we can use phrases.... rule of thumb Origin 1782:The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb. The first and original use of the saying is as simple as the words. The thumb was used as a readily available tool of measuring. It has now been used as a term of commonplace knowledge in a field.

08-22-2016, 11:20 AM	#14
anotherbutch Senior Member How Do You Identify?: butch Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: single and very content this way... Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: the midwest Posts: 1,784 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 317 Thanked 1,298 Times in 365 Posts Rep Power: 9955620	Fuckery: Derived from the word 'fuck', Fuckery is something that is absolute bullshit or utter nonsense. That which is fucked up.

08-22-2016, 11:44 AM	#15
homoe Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: ..... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle Posts: 38,565 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 20,811 Thanked 33,558 Times in 14,919 Posts Rep Power: 21474890	Does anyone know for sure if the origin of "Fuckery" is Jamaican? From what I could find it appears so at least

08-23-2016, 04:44 AM	#17
homoe Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: ..... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle Posts: 38,565 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 20,811 Thanked 33,558 Times in 14,919 Posts Rep Power: 21474890	Go Dutch/Dutch Treat The expression "Go Dutch" has its origin around 1652-1784, during the English-Dutch wars. Around that period, the English commonly used the word Dutch in a number of expressions to convey a negative feeling. The British considered the Dutch to be stingy and miserly and used the phrases involving the Dutch to imply derogatory remarks. Go Dutch is generally used when two people out on a date share the expenses incurred.

08-24-2016, 08:47 AM	#19
cinnamongrrl Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: cleverly disguised as a responsible adult* Preferred Pronoun?: wild woman Relationship Status: No, thank you. Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Home in NC..gonna dig in like a tick this time… Posts: 7,661 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 15,231 Thanked 27,599 Times in 6,956 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	Omg I'm so happy for this thread! Word origins have long fascinated me. There was a time when I considered becoming a linguistic anthropologist. There was a show on cable about the origins of slang. Its interesting to see where our every day lexicon derives from. I was VERY surprised at the origination of y'all. I will be back to read and post!! __________________

08-25-2016, 03:46 AM	#20
homoe Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: ..... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle Posts: 38,565 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 20,811 Thanked 33,558 Times in 14,919 Posts Rep Power: 21474890	Blessing In Disguise origin of 'a blessing in disguise' is believed to be mid-1700s, however scholars have yet to pin down the first usage of the term. The earliest instance of the term found in print was a 1746 work by English writer James Hervey titled Reflections on a Flower-Garden. A misfortune that unexpectedly turns into good fortune.