👽 What are some common English words of unknown origin?
🤖 Nerd
A person who is boring, stupid and not fashionable
The word nerd is documented to have been first used in the 1950s in the United States. It first appeared in a 1951 article in Newsweek, which declared ‘In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd.”
Even before that, nerd was used by Dr. Seuss in his book If I Ran the Zoo (published in 1950) as the name of an imaginary creature. However, it is not known where the word really came from.
🤖 Nerd
A person who is boring, stupid and not fashionable
The word nerd is documented to have been first used in the 1950s in the United States. It first appeared in a 1951 article in Newsweek, which declared ‘In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd.”
Even before that, nerd was used by Dr. Seuss in his book If I Ran the Zoo (published in 1950) as the name of an imaginary creature. However, it is not known where the word really came from.
🔩Junk
Things that are considered useless or of little value
Junk can be traced back to the Old English word jonke of unknown origin, which used to denote an old or inferior rope. It was first used in its current sense in the 19th century.
Things that are considered useless or of little value
Junk can be traced back to the Old English word jonke of unknown origin, which used to denote an old or inferior rope. It was first used in its current sense in the 19th century.
🧩 Conundrum
A confusing problem or question that is very difficult to solve
Conundrum has been in use since the 16th century. It was first recorded in a work by Thomas Nashe as a word used to describe someone who is an eccentric or a pedant, and was later used to denote a pun.
Again, no one really knows where the word originates from, but there are some theories.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, conundrum was probably created by students of Latin in Oxford University as a nonsense word. It has been used according to its present meaning since the late 17th century.
A confusing problem or question that is very difficult to solve
Conundrum has been in use since the 16th century. It was first recorded in a work by Thomas Nashe as a word used to describe someone who is an eccentric or a pedant, and was later used to denote a pun.
Again, no one really knows where the word originates from, but there are some theories.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, conundrum was probably created by students of Latin in Oxford University as a nonsense word. It has been used according to its present meaning since the late 17th century.
🤕 Zit
A spot on the skin, especially on the face
This word is young compared to the rest on this list; it was first used only in the 1960s and is one of those words which truly have unknown origins.
Little is known about it apart from the fact that it is a slang word created by teenagers in the United States.
A spot on the skin, especially on the face
This word is young compared to the rest on this list; it was first used only in the 1960s and is one of those words which truly have unknown origins.
Little is known about it apart from the fact that it is a slang word created by teenagers in the United States.
😁 Slang
Very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people, for example, children, criminals, soldiers, etc.
Both the Oxford Dictionary and Merriam Webster Dictionary describe slang as a word of unknown origin which was first used in the mid-18th century.
Etymologist Anatoly Liberman seems to have traced it back to its origins in a very elaborate way from a blog post that he published in 2016.
He suggests that it comes from the word slanget, an earlier variation of the word slang which originally meant ‘a long and narrow piece of land running up between other and larger pieces of ground.’ Slanget can be traced back to the Danish word slænget and Norwegian slenget, which mean ‘gang’, and ‘someone who is lazy’ respectively. In Old Icelandic, the similar sounding word slangi means ‘tramp’.
Liberman says that it is not uncommon for people to associate a place designated for a certain group and those who live there with that group’s language.
In other words, slang went from being used to refer to disreputable people, to the place where they were commonly found to live, and finally to denote the unusual spoken by them.
Very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people, for example, children, criminals, soldiers, etc.
Both the Oxford Dictionary and Merriam Webster Dictionary describe slang as a word of unknown origin which was first used in the mid-18th century.
Etymologist Anatoly Liberman seems to have traced it back to its origins in a very elaborate way from a blog post that he published in 2016.
He suggests that it comes from the word slanget, an earlier variation of the word slang which originally meant ‘a long and narrow piece of land running up between other and larger pieces of ground.’ Slanget can be traced back to the Danish word slænget and Norwegian slenget, which mean ‘gang’, and ‘someone who is lazy’ respectively. In Old Icelandic, the similar sounding word slangi means ‘tramp’.
Liberman says that it is not uncommon for people to associate a place designated for a certain group and those who live there with that group’s language.
In other words, slang went from being used to refer to disreputable people, to the place where they were commonly found to live, and finally to denote the unusual spoken by them.
😥 Bizarre
Very strange or unusual
Another elusive word that we know little about, other than the fact that it has been in use from the mid-17th century. It probably originated from the Italian word bizzaro, which means ‘angry.’
Very strange or unusual
Another elusive word that we know little about, other than the fact that it has been in use from the mid-17th century. It probably originated from the Italian word bizzaro, which means ‘angry.’
🍲Tiffin
a small meal, especially lunch was first used in early 19th century and was apparently created when India was still under British colonial rule.
According to The Guardian, it comes from the word tiffing, which meant taking a sip of liquor. It was common for Britishers to have a drink and light meal instead of a heavy lunch because they were not used to the hot climate in India.
Tiffing changed to tiffin somewhere along the way. Before that, it is not understood where tiffing comes from. Not much has been done to find out since it is obsolete today.
a small meal, especially lunch was first used in early 19th century and was apparently created when India was still under British colonial rule.
According to The Guardian, it comes from the word tiffing, which meant taking a sip of liquor. It was common for Britishers to have a drink and light meal instead of a heavy lunch because they were not used to the hot climate in India.
Tiffing changed to tiffin somewhere along the way. Before that, it is not understood where tiffing comes from. Not much has been done to find out since it is obsolete today.
💨Avalanche
a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain
Little is known about where this word came from. It has been used since the late 18th century and comes from the French word lavanche, whose origins are unclear.
a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain
Little is known about where this word came from. It has been used since the late 18th century and comes from the French word lavanche, whose origins are unclear.
To Take Somebody Under Your Wing
💡 Meaning —
📢 To start taking care of or protecting somebody.
🌼Sentences —
🌸He is every inch an empathetic person; whenever someone is in danger, he takes that person under his wing. (Starts taking care of or protecting somebody)
📣Every inch — entirely.
🌸She is thankful to her friend for taking her wing; everyone else treats her with a high hand. (Starting to take care of or protect her)
📣With a high hand — in a dominating way.
🌸Do not thrust your nose into her matters; she has taken her nephew under her wing. (Has started taking care of or protecting her nephew)
📣Thrust your nose into something — to interfere in someone's matters.
🌸Everybody bullied her by saying that she was a barrel of laughs; her aunt took her under her wing and loved her deeply. (Started taking care of or protecting her)
📣Barrel of laughs — a funny person.
#idioms
💡 Meaning —
📢 To start taking care of or protecting somebody.
🌼Sentences —
🌸He is every inch an empathetic person; whenever someone is in danger, he takes that person under his wing. (Starts taking care of or protecting somebody)
📣Every inch — entirely.
🌸She is thankful to her friend for taking her wing; everyone else treats her with a high hand. (Starting to take care of or protect her)
📣With a high hand — in a dominating way.
🌸Do not thrust your nose into her matters; she has taken her nephew under her wing. (Has started taking care of or protecting her nephew)
📣Thrust your nose into something — to interfere in someone's matters.
🌸Everybody bullied her by saying that she was a barrel of laughs; her aunt took her under her wing and loved her deeply. (Started taking care of or protecting her)
📣Barrel of laughs — a funny person.
#idioms