Alex Carson
Facts About Words
Words and the English language have been around since before the 5th century AD. You may think that you have a strong vocabulary, and you likely do. However, there may be something things about the words that you use every day that you don’t know. Here are 27 weird but interesting facts about words that you probably didn’t know.
Daisy
The word “daisy” comes from Old English for “days’ eye.” This is because daisies open up during the day and close at night. Considering that this is what the flower does, it makes sense.
Audio and Video
The words audio and video are Latin. Audio in Latin means, I hear. Video in Latin means, I see. It makes sense.
Gymnasium
Gymnasium comes from the Greek word, gymnazein. While the two words sound similar, they don’t really fit. Gymnazein means to exercise naked. Since this doesn’t happen in gyms, it is pretty strange. You don’t usually see too many people working out at the gym completely naked.
Dutch Feast
A Dutch feast is a party where the host gets drunk before the guests do. There are many Dutch feasts going on every weekend all over the world.
Doryphore
Everyone has a doryphore in their group of friends. This is a person who gets great satisfaction out of pointing out other people’s mistakes. Everyone has that one friend who likes to pick everything apart and put their friends down.
E
Close to 11 percent of the English language is just the letter E. It is the most popular vowel and the most popular letter.
Girl
Back in the day, the world girl meant a child of either sex. Back then, little boys called girls. Today, if you call a little goy a girl, it is an insult.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is the name of a Danish king who brought together various groups from different places. It makes sense because this is what Bluetooth does.
Acnestis
Most people can say that their acnestis is itchy. It is the part of your back that you can’t quite reach to scratch. There is nothing more frustrating than this.
Bully
The definition of the word Bully has changed a lot. Back in the 1500s, the word bully meant sweetheart.
Cappuccino
Have you ever wondered where the word cappuccino came from? This hot coffee drink got its name because it looks like the brown hoods that were worn by 16th century Capuchin monks.
Helvetica
Helvetica is a popular font, and the word is Latin for the word, Swiss. This is because the font was designed in Switzerland.
Asinine
Asinine is a combination of the words, ass, aka donkey, canine, aka dog, feline, aka cat, and bovine, aka cow.
Atrate
When you go to a funeral, you should dress in atrate, which means to be dressed all in black.
Baisure
It is a bit strange that they made up a word for this. Baisure is the spot where a loaf of bread has touched another loaf while in the oven. Does it really matter what touched what, where?
Dulciloquent
This means a soft, week way of speaking. If you are sweet, you are dulciloquent.
Floccinaucinihilipilification
This ridiculously long word means that action or habit of estimating something as worthless. Appraisal or rotten person are much easier words to spell, they mean the same thing and that’s the facts about words.
Pandiculation
This word means that phenomenon of yawning and stretching. When people are bored, pandiculation is common.
Harlot
Today, harlot refers to a woman in an unkind way. Originally, the word meant a disreputable young man.
Magniloquent
This word means to use high flown or bombastic language, whatever that means.
Muscle
The word muscle comes from the Latin word, musculus, which translates to little mouse. This is strange since most little mice aren’t very muscular.
Janitor
Janitor is related to Janus, the two-faced Roman god. Most janitors aren’t Gods, which makes this a strange word.
Mythomania
Mythomania is an abnormal tendency to lie or exaggerate. Many people can say that they have a friend who is a mythomania.
Host and Guest
The worlds host and guest come from the same root word, meaning a stranger.
Agelastic
Agelastic comes from the Greek word meaning laughter. Someone who is agelastic never laughs.
Bathos
Bathos is an anticlimax created when there is a change in mood from sublime to silly that is unintentional.
Buccula
A buccula is a little cheek beneath the chin. If you have a double chin, you may have a buccula.
