"Cartoon" (1670s) first referred to the heavy paper on which preliminary sketches for artwork were made. While political cartoons and caricatures (literally "an overloading," from caricare "to load; exaggerate") are much older, "cartoon" was applied to them around 1843, then to animations c. 1916. The Italian word cartone—which also influences the contemporary word "carton" (as in… Continue reading The Etymology of “Cartoon”
"Feisty" comes from a Middle English/Proto-Germanic word for "fart," and also implies "farty dog." Feisty, which today can mean "lively, determined and courageous" or "touchy and aggressive" (especially when referring to a smallish animal or person), arose in American English around 1896. Prior to that, the word feist was an early 19th-century term for "small dog." While… Continue reading The Etymology of “Feisty”
In honor of Tolkien's birthday on January 3, I rounded up this selection of words coined by Tolkien, or words that were otherwise revived or adapted for his works. Find out more fascinating information about the featured image here. Hobbit: Tolkien officially coined this word in 1937 with the publication of The Hobbit, but the word… Continue reading Words Revived, Adapted and Coined by J.R.R. Tolkien
"Arctic" is from the Greek arktos, "bear," because the constellation Ursa Major, "the greater she-bear" (also known as the Big Dipper), is always visible in the northern polar sky. "Antarctic," therefore, literally means "opposite the bear." By force of pure serendipity, polar bears reside at the North Pole but not the South, making the Antarctic… Continue reading The Etymology of “Arctic” and “Antarctic” (and a Bit About “Bear”)
"Resolution" is from the Latin solvere "to loosen, release, explain." Its original meaning "a breaking into parts," has remained as it developed the sense of solving a conflict, and of image detail. The term "New Year's resolution" (1780s) drew from the "determined" sense of the word ("resolute"). Resolution's earliest 14th century definition drew from its… Continue reading The Etymology of “Resolution”
The word "shiver" originally referred to a small piece, fragment, or splinter of something, or to the act of breaking something into many small pieces. Hence, "shiver my/me timbers" refers to the splintering of wooden ships upon rough seas. The "splinter" sense of "shiver" arose c. 1200 as both a noun and a verb, likely… Continue reading The Etymology of “Shiver”
"Falcon" is from the Latin falx, "curved blade, pruning hook, sickle, war-scythe." For many years "falcon" referred to females while "tercel" (Latin tertius, "third") referred to males, perhaps because males are a third smaller or because a third egg in the nest was thought to always produce a male. "Falcon" arose in 13th-century English as… Continue reading The Etymology of “Falcon”
"Chauvinism" comes from the name of Nicolas Chauvin, one of Napoleon's most zealous and vocal supporters, even long after the Napoleonic Wars concluded. However, he may have been an entirely fictional, blindly nationalistic Bonapartist character who appeared in vaudeville and stories from the mid-1800s. The word chauvinism is defined today as excessive and aggressive nationalism,… Continue reading The Etymology of “Chauvinism”
"Frolic" ("make merry, have fun, romp playfully") comes from the Middle Dutch vrolyc "happy," which is a combination of vro- "merry, glad" + lyc "like" (as in "similar"). The PIE root (*preu- "to hop"), also the root of "frog," gives "frolic" the sense of "jumping for joy." Sometimes appearing with the spelling "frolick," especially in… Continue reading The Etymology of “Frolic”
Useless Etymology 