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Classroom Activities:
Word Funs for
English Classrooms:
Selected Etymologies
Below
is an alphabetically-arranged list of interesting English
words, complete with a description of their origins (their
etymologies). A brief definition for each word is included
too. Some of the etymologies included here are uncertain,
and where this is the case it has been indicated.
1-Hazard
n.
Danger; vb. To risk or expose to danger.
This
term evolved from the Arabic al zahr, which means the dice.
In Western Europe the term came to be associated with a
number of games using dice, which were learned during the
Crusades whilst in the Holy Land. The term eventually took
on the connotation of danger because, from very early on,
games using dice were associated with the risky business of
gambling and con artists using corrupted dice.
2-Malaria
n.
Infectious disease characterised by chills and fever and
caused by the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito.]
This
word comes from the mediaeval Italian mal (=bad) and aria
(=air), describing the miasma from the swamps around Rome.
This 'bad air' was believed to be the cause of the fever
that often developed in those who spent time around the
swamps. In fact the illness, now known as malaria, was due
to certain protozoans present in the mosquitos that bred
around these swamps, and which caused recurring feverish
symptoms in those they bit.
3-Pedigree
n. A
line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register
or record of a line of ancestors.
Believed to be derived from the French ped de gru, which
meant crane's foot (the modern French equivalent is pied de
la grue). The crane's foot is said to resemble the /|\
symbol on genealogical trees. It has also been suggested
that it comes from par degrés, the French for by degrees. A
pedigree chart records the relationship of families by
degrees.
4-Phony
(or Phoney)
adj.
Something that is not genuine; a fake or imitation.
British thieves and swindlers of old used many secret
codewords. One such word was fawney, which referred to a
gilt ring. They would sell these, saying that they were made
of real gold. But the rings were not genuine gold, and the
word phony – from fawney – came to be used for anything that
is fake or not genuine.
5-Quarantine
n. Any
forced stoppage of travel or communication on account of
malignant, contagious disease, on land or by sea.
From
the French quarante (=forty). Adding the suffix –aine to
French numbers gives a degree of roughness to the figure
(like –ish in English), so quarantaine means about forty.
Originally when a ship arriving in port was suspected of
being infected with a malignant, contagious disease, its
cargo and crew were obliged to forego all contact with the
shore for a period of around forty days. This term came to
be known as period of quarantine.
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