Interesting Etymologies

[Homer Potvin]

I was thinking today about the connection between the words lunar and lunacy. The idea is that the moon has some power over our behavior. Werewolves, take note! But is it a good thing or a bad thing to be moonstruck?

Well, it governs the mating habits of many species, which makes sense considering it's the only primordial monthly clock in existence. If you haven't seen 9 zillion horseshoe crabs engaged in orgy at a high tide full moon in early summer, you haven't lived yet. I'm serious. They'll line the whole coastline in waist deep piles.

 

[Louanne Learning]

A whole new meaning to the term "mooning"

 

[Homer Potvin]

That's pretty tame. I've seen them in Salt Pond stacked over the surface in 3 feet of water thrashing like a bunch of heathens. Fascinating creatures. They haven't evolved at all in like half a billion years or something.

 

[Naomasa298]

That's pretty tame. I've seen them in Salt Pond stacked over the surface in 3 feet of water thrashing like a bunch of heathens. Fascinating creatures. They haven't evolved at all in like half a billion years or something.

Their eggs are eaten in Thailand.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I was thinking today about the connection between the words lunar and lunacy. The idea is that the moon has some power over our behavior. Werewolves, take note! But is it a good thing or a bad thing to be moonstruck?

I'm pretty sure that belief had existed for a long time, and still does. In the Middle Ages, people believed that the position of the planets and stars when they were born meant what kind of person they would be.

We still believe in a similar thing now. We just call it the astrology column in the papers.

And some people still believe in it -- and fervently -- otherwise they wouldn't talk about getting vibes from the grocery store because Mercury is in retrograde, and so on.

 

[Louanne Learning]

But full moons sort of make us more romantic?

 

[Louanne Learning]

The word clue has an interesting origin.

Defined since the 16th century as “anything that guides or directs in an intricate case” – it derives from the Germanic word clew – which is a “ball of thread or yarn.” Is it about finding the end of the thread?

This is not the only word that transformed from an -ew ending to an -ue ending. Others include blew (blue) and imbew (imbue), representing a change from the Old German to Old French.

Also, in the 18th century, they said "shew" for "show"

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Yep, I've heard of "clew" and "shew". (I'm fairly certain I've seen the word "shew" in Shakespeare at least once).

And then I wondered about the etymology (or at least the origin) of the name "Shakespeare". I'm sure we can all imagine what it means -- "to shake a spear" -- but a quick google and jump to Etymonline later informed me that the name is ...

Originating from late Old English, the surname recorded from 1248 means "a spearman," derived from "to shake" meaning to brandish or flourish a weapon.

This was a common type of English surname (e.g. Shakelance (1275), Shakeshaft (1332), etc.) and was in use through Middle English. Compare also shake-buckler "a swaggerer, a bully;" shake-rag "ragged fellow, tatterdemalion," an old name for a beggar.

Now I wonder if shake-bowl (referring to the bowls beggars would thrust at passers-by to demand alms) was also in use, or if shake-rag was also used for Morris dancers.