"Decal," a design that can be transferred onto another surface, is short for "decalcomania," from French décalcomanie (Latin calcare "to tread on, press"). Decalcomania may also be the source of "cockamamie," meaning "nonsense, implausible," from the name of a series of children's temporary tattoos. Invented around 1750 by French engraver Simon François Ravenet when he… Continue reading The Etymology of “Decal” and “Cockamamie”
"Jargon," adopted from French in the 14th century, originally meant "unintelligible talk, gibberish; chattering, jabbering." It wryly took on its current meaning, "phraseology peculiar to a sect or profession," in the 1650s due to the fact that such speech was unintelligible to outsiders. Incidentally, the unintelligible sense of "jargon" also arose around the same time as the… Continue reading The Etymologies of “Jargon,” “Jabber,” and “Gibberish”
Useless Etymology 