Home Etymology

Etymology

Nudiustertian: The Day Before Yesterday

Many languages have specific words for “the day before yesterday”. The Portuguese call it anteontem, in Spanish, it’s anteayer, in German, vorgestern.  The English language however, is...

Word Origins: Orange

The word orange is both a noun and an adjective in the English language and refers primarily to the orange fruit and the colour orange, but...

Word Origins: Good-Bye

The word “Good-bye” is actually derived from the words God be with you.  Its first recorded use is in a 1573 letter.  Earlier forms of...

Word Origins: Whisky

The word whiskey or whisky is the English equivalent of the Goidelic name (Irish: uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic: uisge beatha) literally meaning “water of life”. Earlier anglicizations include usquebaugh, usquebea (1706)...

Geek: Word Origins

The word geek has had various meanings over the last five centuries.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word geek as: 1: a carnival performer often billed as...
Slot online