Word and Phrase Origins
Includes questions related to the origins and etymology of English words and phrases.
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Durkee Atwood
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Marissa MurrayNo, deeded is not a word whoever asked this question because deeded is already pural. Of course "deeded" is a word. The asker is...
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AnswerA 'numty' is to describe a mildly moronic person. It derives from the English nursey rhyme 'Humpty Dumpty' as in 'dumb' but...
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3 It appears both answers are propagating the same myth. Firstly, the parlor's primary purpose was not to accommodate the dead...
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The English word war has a Latin language source, bellum. How it got from there to here is longer story, so please access the...
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The predicate is the action or linking part of the sentence, which includes the verbs and anything that modifies them, basically...
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Over there, at an indeterminate point in the distance.
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It took a painfully long amount of time to trek up the thirty flights of stairs.
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It depends upon which part of the word is most important. If "sleep" is the essential part, then the root is hypnos; but if...
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Together, clever, and never, if ever, sever, lever, tether, feather, weather, whether,
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My grandfather was Pennsylvania Dutch; he used "kaput" to mean junk, broken, worn out. My guess is that the original is related...
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The Tropic of Capricorn originates from the constellation Capricornus, which marked the southern limit of the plane of the...
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Common people, worker bees. You could always Google the term! this dosent explain the answer>I would answer the...
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Swear words or "profanities" have developed gradually and non deliberately and can vary between cultures and within the same...
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"Bears repeating" actually has nothing to do with the animal. Bear in this phrase means "able to support, carry, or hold." For...
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According to the Online Etymology Dictionary: ; step- : O.E. steop-, with connotations of "loss," in combinations like steopcild...
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The word meditate stems from the Latin root meditatum, i.e. to ponder. In the old Testament means to sigh or murmur, but also to...
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AnswerBecause hospitals take care of you, that's what hospitality is.I'm sure there's a better answer using the latin root...
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VIP means very important people VIP is just the abbreviation.especially in clubs it can also mean very intelligent people but...
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Physical location? In North Eastern Europe most likely. Origination of meaning? It is from the verb phrase (I) thank you. Thank...
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"Russophile" and "Italophile" are the missing words in the sentence "Anglophile is to England as Russophile is to Russia and...
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The outcome of the case
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complete freedom
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Yes Eminated is a word it was coined and defined by the philosopher and philologist Dr William F Fearon. It is a synonym for...
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wat ever
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AnswerHere are some sites with free online etymology: Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com) - a unique source of over...
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About 1500 BC, India was invaded by Indo-European people. These people came from the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian...
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Most people associate it to Thomas Crapper, who invented the flushing toilet.
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Some believe it was Sun-tzu Chinese general & military strategist however there is no documented history of this. Was...
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It refers to the fact that a gambler was expected to keep his hands above the table or board. A gambler whose hands were not...
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The assertion, "There is more than one way to skin a cat.", is an animal metaphor meaning: There is more than one approach to...
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Museum is a latinized word from the ancient Greek word mouseion an adjective from mousa or 'Muse' a human female person...
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It is often unwise to take shortcuts.
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Answer2,000 years ago before any kind of mainstream science everything was believed to be of magical origin, and alchohol was...
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"Believe the Hype" means that whatever the phrase is said about is really as good as everyone says... usually meaning that...
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It is an old and very racist term that should never have been used at the time, and definitely should not be used today. When...
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AnswerIf it applies, take it to heart. Imagine this dialogue: Jack: "Nobody likes someone who rats on other people." Sue: "Are...
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Shampoo: From Hindi cā[mdot]pō, imperative of cā[mdot]pnā, to press http://www.answers.com/shampoo
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It's from the Greek "Rhesos," which was the name of a mythological figure. It's from "Rhesos", king of Thrace in north Greece...
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"Godspeed" is not any measurable value of speed! It is simply a form of well-wishing, which probably comes from Old...
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not to the Indians, the term results from culture clash, and you would get wild to if someone were taking you land by hook, crook...
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Nippy has a few different meanings other than this one, presumably related to chilly weather. I'm going to offer a ''possible''...
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San Faryan /sometimes spelt San Fairy Ann -in Britain means GOODBYE FOREVER - usually used when people have left you in the lurch...
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What is another word for Team Player?
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Cheered is the verb of this sentence.
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The English word chic was coined in 1856, being borrowed from the French word chic, having a 19th century meaning of...
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The word pathology is from the Greek πάθος, pathos, and -λογία, -logia. "pathos" means "pain" or "suffering" and is...
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Kia ora (=~ 'wish you well' in Maori) would be a universally accepted alternate to good morning. Morena is also used, but that...
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It means a victory at great loss to the victor. Examples include the eponymous victories of Pyrrhus at Heraclea and Asculum,...
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English words mostly have English or French roots.
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Heresay
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In 1971 a group of San Rafael High School students, called the Waldos, used to gather around 4:20pm to smoke marijuana, so "420"...
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Tt originates from the Hindi language
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I'm sure I could find the answer to this in a nanosecond by searching for it, but my guess it would be something to do with Rigor...
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There is no clear origin. There are, however, three basic theories: 1. The phrase is just one more of a very long list of...
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Arabic Admihr al bahr Commander of the sea Answer Strictly speaking, admiral came from amir-al meaning "commander of..." or...
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Because what you don't know is still real anyway, so if you are not aware of it, it can hurt you. Forewarned is forearmed. ...
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A seed or nut of an oak tree is called an acorn in English because that is the name that has come down to us over the past...
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AnswerYes, King Henry was on his way to Scotland, and stopped just outside Preston where he was served a loin steak. He enjoyed...
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The word chick is a short form for chicken and its use in American slang to refer to a young woman is attributed to Sinclair...
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It comes from the Latin botanicus and the Greek botane meaning 'plant' or ' herb'. ANAMIKA Botany word come from greek word...
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AnswerThe discovery of the vitamins began with experiments performed by Hopkins at the beginning of the twentieth century; he fed...
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Meaning:- The belief that the third time something is attempted is more likely to succeed than the previous two attempts. It is...
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tanglble factors are those which can be depended on to be a part of the decision and can be counted and considered and touched as...
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I don't claim to know it's true origin. However, it is used commonly by Winnie the Pooh. That where I was introduced to it.
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It is a plant extract, used to make the gummy part of chewing gum. One brand of gum, Chicklets, takes it's name from chicle.
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The word kin means family, race, class, or kind. It comes from Old English cynn. As a suffix, -ship also derives from Old...
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Thermos is from the Greek word 'thermos' meaning 'heat'.
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It's either a retarded misquote of Shakespeare's play "Much Ado about Nothing", or it's clever pun on the same.
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"Begging the question" is a little understood and much misused phrase. It refers to the logical fallacy of asking someone to...
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It is not an idiom. Unkindness is often called heartlessness, and so the expression "have a heart" means "Do not be unkind."
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As opposed to a "tollway" on which the user is charged for using the highway, freeways do not charge a fee for use.
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a bit of knowledge means less knowledge (to someone) bit of knowledge a material which gives knowledge
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"A pound of flesh" means sixteen ounces or 454 grams of human tissue, either skin or muscle. In Shakespeare's play The Merchant...
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Popularized in the comic strip Snuffy Smith, bodacious is probably a blend of the words bold and audacious, whose combined senses...
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In 1850, two Ottoman Frigates "Mir'at-ı Zafer" and "Sirağ-ı Bahr-i Birlik" visited English Naval Base in Portsmouth, were they...
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The word 'banana' is apparently derived from the Arabic word 'banan' means 'finger'. That's why a bunch of banana is called a...
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There is no such thing as "Waa Laa". The word is "voila".
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The word "mer" has many different meanings. If you are talking about DNA oligonucleotides, a mer is a unit of length for an...
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Japanese- always, as that is where the dog was first recognized as a breed.Please see the discussion page.
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Clues to the origin of "going to hell in a handbasket," meaning "deteriorating rapidly or utterly," are, unfortunately, scarce as...
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Tarnation and darnation (the latter probably having come first) are both euphemistic forms of damnation. Tarnation seems to have...
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This phrase came into use in the late 1800s and means "to surveil" and likely derives from the Hollerith Tabulator which was used...
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Eight (8), according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). See related link for further explanation.
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It means knowing the way that things or procedures work.
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The phrase is "Axe to grind" and it means that you have a grievance to settle or a job to do, so you need to go and grind your...
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Because the chalkbeds of southern England were allegedly laid down during the Cretaceous period, The Answer(s) to this Question...
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It is likely from the Aramaic, based on the Aramaic roots abra and cadabra which roughly mean "create" and "as I say." It first...
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absolutely no swearing in the song and the video is not rude .it is not explicit
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I believe this comes from "kneading bread, or dough". "To knead or shape something out of soft dough". This can be answered by...
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They are named praying mantis because of their tyical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis...
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He was a character in the comic strip "Li'l Abner"
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