WORD HISTORY

You Never Suspected The Origins Of These 10 Words

Image: Waldemar

Etymology is often overlooked, which is definitively a shame: After all, the history of the words we use every day is at least as old as humankind’s earliest interactions with language. As humans evolved and grew, so did our words, so you might not be surprised to learn that a big part of our vocabulary has roots in ancient and downright fascinating ancient cultures.

We have selected ten common words that have surprising, beautiful, or downright strange origins. We hope that, by the end of this article, you’ll think fondly about these interesting facts whenever you use these terms in everyday conversation. Enjoy!

Image: NASA

We’ll start with one of the most common childhood dream jobs, and while only a select few might travel to outer space, we still hold the uttermost respect and fascination for these daring men and women. In that sense, the word "astronaut" has a rather beautiful meaning hiding in its etymology.

Astronaut comes from the Ancient Greek words astron, which means "stars," and nautes, which means "sailor." So, in a sense, this dream profession beautifully represents one of mankind’s oldest dreams: the ability to sail freely and discover the skies above.

Image: Jim Strasma

Have you ever applauded after watching a particularly colorful and energetic fireworks display? You might be surprised to learn that both the sound of your applause and the colorful explosions above your head share the same etymological root.

The verb "explode" comes from the Latin word plaudere, which describes the noise produced by loud clapping. Ancient Romans would show their approval of something pretty much as we do: with a resounding round of applause, which was described by the term explaudere.

Image: Maayan Nemanov

You are probably familiar with the word "boycott," which describes the act of willingly denying support to a company or organization due to differing principles. However, were you aware that, before it became a commonly used word, boycott was first the last name of a British army officer?

What’s interesting is that Captain Charles Boycott, the man after whom this action was named, was not the one to first enact a boycott: he was actually the target of one. Captain Boycott managed a property in Northern Ireland during the 19th century and became involved in a dispute with local farmers that ended in the very first boycott in history. Enraged farmers decided to stop working the captain’s lands, forcing him to leave the town.

Image: Dan Parlante

Remember how we promised in the introduction of this article that we would delve into some weird etymology? Well, we’ll go a step beyond that and focus on the strange origins of the word "weird" itself. You might be surprised to learn that a term usually associated with informal or casual use is based on classical figures of mythology.

Weird comes from the Old English word wyrd, which was used as a synonym for "fate." In fact, the plural word wyrde was used to represent the Fates, the three Greek goddesses that spun the lives of mortals and gods alike. You might recall the three Weird Sisters, who told King Macbeth his fate in Shakespeare’s classic play. Surprisingly, the "weird" in their name didn’t describe their strangeness, but rather their ability to tell the future.

Image: Bryan Goff

You would think that such an iconic term as "astronaut" would be the only space-related term in this list, but the truth is that many words related to "the Final Frontier" have fascinating origins. For example, the word "planet" comes from an Ancient Greek word that means "wanderer," while "comet" can be roughly translated to "long-haired star." In that sense, the etymological origins of the word "galaxy" also tell a beautiful tale of human ingenuity.

Galaxy comes from the Late Latin word galaxias, which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek galaxías. This last word is derived from gála (Greek for "milk"), which was mostly used in conjunction with the Greek word for wheel, kýklos. So, the word devised by Ancient Greece to describe the Milky Way ended up describing every galaxy that inspires our sense of discovery.

Image: Nopparuj Lamaikul

Nowadays, we use the word "juggernaut" to describe something massive in size, as well as powerful and almost unstoppable. While this term was made popular by a Marvel comics villain of the same name (who shares all of these qualities), its etymological origins are actually rooted in the story of an ancient Hindi god.

The word "juggernaut" is an English rendering of Jagannath, one of the central deities in Hinduism. The name of this god is in itself a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to "Lord of the Universe," which further illustrates the importance of this deity.

Image: Karl Callwood

Porpoises are sometimes regarded as less popular than dolphins, which is truly a disservice to this intelligent cetacean, which is actually a closer relative to belugas than to dolphins. So, let’s try our best, at least for this entry, to keep dolphins out of the picture, and let’s focus solely on the fascinating etymology of porpoises.

The word "porpoise" comes from the Anglo-French word porpeis, which in turn comes from two Latin roots: porcus, which means "pig," and piscis, which means "fish." While "pig fish" might not be the most glamorous etymology for our seafaring friends, we hope the world will now see this lovable animal in a more favorable light.

Image: Anastasia Vityukova

Just like with "boycott," a real person holds the dubious honor of being the origin of the name behind one of the most addictive substances on Earth. Nicotine, a chemical compound commonly found in cigarettes, was named after Jean Nicot de Villemain, a 16th-century French diplomat credited with bringing the first tobacco plants to France.

To be fair, Jean Nicot believed that smoking tobacco had medicinal properties and that it would help his country deal with ravaging illnesses like the plague. Since the plant was known as Nicotiana in France, it stands to reason that Nicot’s last name inspired the etymology of this chemical compound.

Image: Ben Sweet

The term "Silhouette" describes an image that depicts a single element (such as a person, an animal, or an object) as a single, solid color that doesn’t show any internal features. While this is definitively a loan word from the French language, you might be surprised to learn that this word pays homage to yet another French statesman.

Étienne de Silhouette, an 18th-century finance minister, was the direct inspiration for this technique. According to historians, his harsh economic wartime measures forced many wealthy French people to turn to more austere artistic representations. As a result, these cheaper outline portraits became increasingly popular in this country’s artistic communities.

Image: Stephan Widua

We’ll end this article with the beautifully tragic story behind the word "echo." This word describes a reflection of sound, which the listener usually experiences after a slight delay. Echo is present in nature in many forms, from the way natural accidents like canyons return sound to a process that animals like bats or dolphins use to navigate their environments.

Like many entries on this list, this word comes to us from Ancient Greece: in Greek mythology, the mountain nymph Echo was cursed by the goddess Hera to only be able to repeat the last words spoken to her. While this nymph’s fate was definitively calamitous, we can at least take solace in the fact that her namesake inspired radar technology, one of the most useful human inventions in history.

INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS

Travel Through Time: 10 Amazing Expeditions That Changed The World

Image: Hector John Periquin

Today, our world is so globalized and hyper-connected that it is virtually impossible to find completely unknown places. But long before the internet and low-cost airlines, there was a time when the planet was a mysterious and unexplored territory. Back then, traveling was a real adventure in which even the most intrepid would risk their lives to discover new worlds. As a tribute to all those explorers who followed their instinct and went against the tide, in this article we’ll revisit some of the greatest expeditions in history.

Image: dp1616

Perhaps the most controversial exploration voyage, and the one that changed the world's socio-political landscape forever, is the one that led Christopher Columbus to discover the American continent. The Genoese explorer and navigator reached America for the first time in 1492, following his "crazy" theory that the world was round. Columbus, who sought to reach the East Indies, found another vast continent instead, one that nobody had ever heard of before.

Then other Spanish conquistadors arrived in these faraway lands and new routes were opened for the rest of the European powers, which would ultimately cause numerous losses for the native peoples. Regardless of the historical and ethnic consequences, what is certain is that Christopher Columbus proved to be a visionary and courageous adventurer who continued to explore until the end of his days —in total, he made four voyages to America!

Image: DanielWanke

If Columbus was the first to arrive in America, the Portuguese navigator and explorer Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India through the South Seas. During his first expedition (1497-99) he sailed down the Atlantic to round the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa.

Three years later, he sailed the Indian Ocean and landed in Calicut. This voyage —the longest by sea until that time— allowed the expansion of Portuguese possessions in Asia and Africa. The great explorer made a second expedition to India, of which he would be named governor in 1524, shortly before contracting malaria and dying.

Image: Jack Anstey

If we are speaking of the most famous explorers in history, it is imperative to mention the name of Marco Polo. This Venetian merchant of the late 13th and early 14th centuries epitomized the adventurous spirit of the time and was responsible for introducing the wonders of Asia to the European continent. During his 23-year-long voyage, he traveled through what is now China, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tibet, India, and Myanmar.

Marco Polo had incredible experiences: he found remote cities and exotic palaces, discovered totally unknown religions, and met strange animals. Luckily for us, all these adventures were reflected, upon his return to the West, in the Book of the Wonders of the World, written by Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he shared a cell after falling prisoner during the Venetian–Genoese wars. But that is another story…

Image: Phillip Sauerbeck

French explorer and botanist Jeanne Baret is considered to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. But to do so, she had to disguise herself as a man! Dressed as a sailor, she joined Admiral Antoine de Bougainville's expedition in 1766.

The French Navy prohibited women from boarding its ships, so Jeanne tied a bandage over her breasts and enlisted as valet to the French naturist Philibert Commerçon. During her expedition, she collected samples of more than 6,000 plants from all over the world, some of which were later kept in the French National Herbarium at the Jardin des Plantes. We certainly must thank this courageous woman explorer for unearthing new and invaluable ground in the botany field.

Image: Victor

Another titan of maritime exploration was Captain James Cook. Adventurer, navigator, cartographer, and military man, Cook was a very complete human being. No other marine explorer traveled and discovered as many miles and lands as he did.

His biographers describe him as cultured, tough, indomitable, with a genuine interest in the foreign cultures of the places he discovered and, let’s be honest, a rather irascible temper. In 11 years, Cook completed three journeys across the Pacific, mapping coasts and islands that remained unknown. New Zealand, the east coast of Australia, the Hawaiian Islands —where he died after an altercation with the natives— and Easter Island are some of the places he discovered.

Image: Fernando Venzano

In 1859, the foundations of science and accepted beliefs were completely overturned by the publication of Charles Darwin's seminal work, The Origin of Species. The seeds of his revolutionary theory can be found 24 years earlier, when Darwin arrived in the Galapagos Islands —located in the Pacific Ocean, 560 miles off the coast of Ecuador.

The British naturalist had been sailing for three years aboard the HMS Beagle, captained by Robert FitzRoy, before reaching the archipelago. Once there, he observed species of wildlife that had never been seen before. This unexpected encounter would inspire his studies for the next two decades. Thanks to his adventurous spirit Darwin became one of the most influential scientists in history and his work continues to be a cornerstone of biological science today.

Image: Halima Bouchouicha

Intelligent, sword-wielding, bully, capable of speaking 30 languages, drunkard, diplomat, disloyal, and explorer. That's how scholars describe Sir Richard Burton, a British adventurer who was never afraid as he explored Arabia, Syria, India, East Africa, Brazil, and the western United States.

A shot in the jaw, syphilis, malaria, bandit attacks, and opium highs were among his travel ordeals. Not to mention the time he circumcised himself to pass as a Muslim. Despite being a controversial character, it is said that Burton was the first anthropologist of the modern era, so let’s just say, we owe him a lot.

Image: Una Miller

The frozen lands of Antarctica, one of the most inhospitable places on the planet, were one of Ernest Shackleton's most profound obsessions. The first time the Anglo-Irish adventurer attempted to reach the Antarctic continent was in 1901 when he joined Capt. Robert Falcon Scott's British National Antarctic Expedition. Unfortunately, a health condition forced him to abandon the crusade.

A few years later, he led the Nimrod Expedition which succeeded in arriving at the southernmost point ever reached by man. Then, in 1914, he set sail again intending to cross Antarctica from end to end. But the ship became trapped in the ice and the explorers had to manage to survive, totally isolated, for more than two years. It was his leadership and endurance that made him one of the most legendary adventurers who ever lived.

Image: Parth Savani

It took three decades, many failed expeditions, and several lives taken before New Zealander climber Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay managed to finally crown the merciless summit of Everest. On May 29, 1953, they became the first climbers to reach the highest mountain on earth, which rises majestically over 29,000 feet above sea level.

Yet, Hillary's adventurous spirit did not stop there. Years later, in 1958, he reached the South Pole as a member of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and in 1985 he made it to the North Pole, achieving another record: that of being the first person to get to know both poles.

Image: NASA

In the early morning of July 21, 1969, no one was able to take their eyes off the television set. What was about to happen was to become the greatest milestone in the history of humanity. The moment when Neil Armstrong would descend from Apollo XI to take that "small step for man", which in reality was a huge stride "for mankind".

That crew —completed by Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins— had gone farther than the vast majority of mortals ever dreamed of. From that moment on, the astronauts became true rock stars and an atmosphere of optimism pervaded everything. If they had managed to reach the moon, what else could human beings achieve from now on?