Interesting Etymologies

[Louanne Learning]

Language is dynamic and ever-changing. It’s interesting to find out where our words come from.

If you’ve got an interesting story or history to share about any part of the English language, please share it here!

 

[Louanne Learning]

A fascinating read is The Slang Dictionary, first published 1873. (Read online at the link)

There are 23 entries in it that include the word “cock.”

The entry for Cockney is interesting. Apparently, by the 19th century, it referred to any resident of London, England, but its roots trace it back to meaning a spoilt or effeminate boy.

It’s related to Cockering, or foolishly petting a person.

Cockney, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate boy, derived from COCKERING, or foolishly petting a person, rendering him of soft and luxurious manners. Halliwell states, in his admirable essay upon the word, that “some writers trace the word with much probability to the imaginary land of COCKAYGNE, the lubber land of the olden times.” Grose gives Minsheu’s absurd but comical derivation:—A citizen of London being in the country, and hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, “Lord! how that horse laughs!” A bystander informed him that the noise was called neighing. The next morning when the cock crowed, the citizen, to show that he had not forgotten what was told him, cried out, “Do you hear how the COCK NEIGHS?”

 

[Naomasa298]

The entry for Cockney is interesting. Apparently, by the 19th century, it referred to any resident of London

A Cockney properly refers to someone born within the sound of Bow Bells, not just any resident of London (although it depends which "London" you're referring to.

Spoiler: Annoying info dump that no one needs to know

Bow Bells are the bells at the church of St Mary-le-Bows, in the City of London, which is a small area of the larger city of Greater London, otherwise known as the Square Mile (since that's how large it is), and particularly Cheapside (London, Ontario also has a Cheapside).

 

[Louanne Learning]

A Cockney properly refers to someone born within the sound of Bow Bells,

From Etymology online:

"native or permanent resident of London," specifically the City of London, more precisely one born or living "within the sound of Bow-Bell" (see Bow bells); c. 1600, usually said to be from Middle English cokenei, cokeney "spoiled child, milksop" (late 14c.), originally cokene-ey "cock's egg" (mid-14c.). The most likely disentangling of the etymology is to start from Old English cocena "cock's egg" — genitive plural of coc "cock" + æg "egg" — medieval term for "runt of a clutch" (as though "egg laid by a cock"), extended derisively c. 1520s to "town dweller," gradually narrowing thereafter to residents of a particular neighborhood in the East End of London.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Here's an old Cockney expression (from the Slang Dictionary, 1873)

Ipsal dixal, Cockney corruption of ipse dixit—said of one’s simple uncorroborated assertion.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Indeed. Bow Bells are also referred to in the old rhyme, "Oranges and Lemons" (probably as old as 1744). It may not have been a nursery rhyme then, but it sure became one now.

I very much recommend Crooked Talk by Jonathon Green for criminal slang. Green is a slang expert who investigates how criminal terms have changed over the past 500 years. I wrote a story that features a thieves' guild several years ago, and I picked out various funny-sounding terms for spicing up stories.

For instance, clank-napper. A specialty. A person who steals silver plates ... because they clank.

Bagged, not scragged. In prison, but not hanged ... yet.

Prad prigger, paulfrey prigger, Prancer prigger. all terms for a horse thief. (Alliteration ftw).

Ark man (or ack man). A robber on the Thames who specialised in blocking traffic and robbing the customers.

With a bit of shuffling around, you can easily re-use these for a story. Have fun!

 

[Louanne Learning]

"avocado," originates from the Aztec word "ahuacatl," meaning "testicle"

(I've read that avocado is one of the superfoods you should eat as often as is possible)

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Way back when, I called to my sister's apartment in Dublin, which she shared with her med school boyfriend, now husband. She a nurse, he in med school, they always had a variety of curios loitering around the apartment. A hip bone here, pieces of skull there, samples and pickled whatevers lying around, wall charts with all the squishy bits exposed. I once picked up a peculiar looking object and dropped it quickly when they told me it was a septic testicle. Over a decade later I was recalling that story and they, sheepishly in fairness, finally told me it was the core of an avocado. While I may have felt very stupid in that moment, I also felt a little less guilty for disclosing, many years after the practice, my sister's ingenious method of stealing cigarettes from our mother's packs when she, sister, was a teenager.

 

[Rad Scribbler]

Cockneys use rhyming slang in everyday speech.

Examples:
Apples and Pears = Stairs
Porky Pie = Lie
Dog and Bone = Phone
Khyber Pass = Arse

The list goes on and on.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

That has been going on for donkey's years. Here is an example from 50 years ago:

 

[Woof]

I like that we have almost no idea where the word 'dog' comes from. We can trace it back to 'docga' but not beyond that. There's a very in depth discussion of it on the OUP blog but I was listening to Unspeakable on BBC Sounds which has a couple of series of comedy panel show type discussions around words and their meanings. It's a nice show if you're able to get it, I hope they keep it running. Susie Dent has one of the nicest jobs/careers going I love the idea of speculating about docga though: did it mean something else before it was applied to dogs or was it someone's onomatopoeia or maybe a nickname for a person that someone then used kindly/unkindly for their dog to get a reaction and it stuck? Maybe there's a prompt in there for one of the challenges: The Meaning of Dog

 

[Louanne Learning]

the word 'dog'

it's a word from which sprang a lot of sayings. I wonder why. From the 1873 slang dictionary:

Dogberry, a foolish constable.—Shakspeare.

Dog cheap, or DOG-FOOLISH, very or singularly cheap, or foolish. Latham, in his English Language, says:—“This has nothing to do with dogs. The first syllable is god=good, transposed, and the second, the ch‑‑p, is chapman, merchant: compare EASTCHEAP.”—Old term.

Doggery, nonsense, transparent attempts to cheat.

Dog gone, a form of mild swearing used by boys.

Dog in a blanket, a kind of pudding, made of preserved fruit spread on thin dough, and then rolled up and boiled. This pudding is also called “rolly-polly” and “stocking.”

Dog in the manger, a scurvy, ill-conditioned, selfish fellow. From the fable of that title.

Dog Latin, barbarous Latin, such as was formerly used by lawyers in their pleadings. Now applied to medical Latin.

Dogs, TO GO TO THE, to be commercially or socially ruined. Originally a stable term applied to old or worthless horses, sold to feed hounds.

Dog’s body, a kind of pease pudding.—Sea.

Dog’s ears, the curled corners of the leaves of books, which have been carelessly treated. The use of this term is so common that it is hardly to be considered slang.

Dog’s nose, gin and beer, so called from the mixture being cold, like a dog’s nose.

Dog stealer, a DOG DEALER. There is sometimes less difference between the two trades than between “d” and “st.”

***

There's also "dog-tired' and "f*cking the dog" (to be lazy)

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Dog’s body, a kind of pease pudding.—Sea.

There is also pure dogsbody. This term is primarily used in British English, and refers to someone who performs menial or tedious tasks, often for those in more senior or important positions. It can be considered a derogatory term, but also sometimes used jokingly or self-referentially.

Baldrick is Blackadder's dogsbody in the BBC series Blackadder.

There's also "dog-tired' and "f*cking the dog" (to be lazy)

I haven't heard of that second one, except in instances of bestiality ...

 

[Louanne Learning]

I haven't heard of that second one

With "taboo deformation" - (using a word to replace a word we don't want to say) - it becomes "porking the pooch"

Probably the most famous case of "taboo deformation" is dagnabbit standing in for goddammit

 

[Kiraann]

With "taboo deformation" - (using a word to replace a word we don't want to say) - it becomes "porking the pooch"

Or “screwing the pooch” ? I’ve heard that phrase almost all my life.

 

[Louanne Learning]

“screwing the pooch”

Are you Canadian?

 

[Kiraann]

Nope. Texan/ Okie.

But heard in a variety of places.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Nice is a word that has undergone a lot of transformations.

late 13c., in reference to persons, "foolish, ignorant, frivolous, senseless," from Old French nice (12c.) "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish,"

from Latin nescius "ignorant, unaware," literally "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + stem of scire "to know"

from "foolish" to "timid, faint-hearted" (pre-1300), to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.), to "dainty, delicate" (c. 1400), to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769), to "kind, thoughtful" (1830).