The word "mystery" and its cousin “mystic” both trace back to Latin and Greek words (mysterium and mysteria) for secrets, especially religious rites performed by secret orders. The Greek root myein means "to close" or "to shut." Even in English, "mystery" was first used in a theological context, referring to divine revelations and mystical truths, but it… Continue reading The Etymology of “Mystery”
You’ve probably heard of collective nouns for animals like a herd of cattle or a murder of crows—or perhaps… a prickle of porcupines a flamboyance of flamingoes an ambush of tigers an exaltation of larks a dazzle of zebras These are called nouns of assembly or terms of venery, where "venery" is a word for… Continue reading An Elocution of of Etymologists: Animal Collectives, Nouns of Assembly or Terms of Venery
Useless Etymology 