The fear of long words is called hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia #WordFacts #Irony
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The name porcupine literally translates to “spiny pig” in French #WordFacts #Animals
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#FunFact #OceanFacts #HistoryFacts #JWST #ScienceFacts
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The fear of long words is called hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia #WordFacts #Irony
#Physics #SpaceFacts #FunFact #OceanFacts
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“polyglot” is a slur for polyamorous people
“thespian” is a nonbinary lesbian
“arithmetic” means being bad at rhythm
“nuptial” means that an organism primary snacks at nighttime
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Do you **REALLY** know the meaning of "Sinister" ? The word originally meant "on the left" in Latin, with the opposite of "Sinister" being "Dexter". However, in ancient cultures and believes, the left side was often associated with bad luck or evil, leading to the modern day meaning.
#wordfacts
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Let's talk math. The numbering system we use today originated in Arab - so it's no surprise that some of the methodologies have Arabic origins as well! "Algebra" stems from the Arabic word for restoring / reuniting - "Jabara"; "Al-Jabr" being the reunion of broken parts.
#wordfacts
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The etymology of "Walrus" is likely derived from either Dutch ("wal" = shore, "reus" = giant) or Old Norse ("hross" = horse, "hvalr" = whale). So, depending on which school you believe, they are either shore giants or Horse whales. Me ? I like shore giants better.
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"Nightmare" was never about horses , but "Mære" - which in old english was a malicious entity (depending on the region they could be a demon, a goblin, some other creature) that would sit on a sleeper's chest, causing nightmares and sleep paralysis.
#wordfacts
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"Utopia" was coined in 1516 by Sir Thomas More from οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place") - literally "no place" , and not from εὖ ("good" or "well") and τόπος ("place") - which is how we use the word these days. "Dystopia" - antonym of Utopia - was coined in 1868 based on mistaken origin.
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Did you know that a "Buttload" is an ACTUAL unit of measurement? Specifically, 126 Imperial Gallons or 477 Litres of liquid. Wines and ales were stored and carried in a large cask - or butt - historically, and so a "buttload" was actually a very specific mearsurement.
#wordfacts
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Did you know that there is actually a word that is the opposite of "sparkle" ? The antonym - which is what a word that is the opposite of another is called - of sparkle is "darkle" !
#wordfacts
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If you know some one whose name seems to have fortold their career (a Watts that is an Electrician, or a Smith who is a blacksmith) , then their name is an aptonym!
#wordfacts
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Eg. "Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vows" sounds so much more interesting and mystical! There is also "The five boxing wizards jump quickly" and "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs". Do you know any others ? And which is your favourite?
#wordfacts
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You know how sometimes your brain takes a few things and just mushes them up into a whole new thing? Well, if the things you are mushing up are idioms, then the product would be a Malaphor!
#wordfacts
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May I introduce you to... MAPOLOGIES! Here you can find out what everyone else calls the thing that you are thinking of! It's a great site to fall down etymologiy rabbit holes! COME JOIN ME - https://mapologies.com
#wordfacts
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So where did the "n" go? Well, English moved it to the indefinite article... which is why it's "an orange", and not "a orange". Another word that we did that too is "apron" - in Middle French it was "naperon" ... and "adder" was "naedre"
#wordfacts
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In today's #wordfacts - "Running Amok" has somewhat medical origins! "Amok" in this instance refers to Amok Syndrome, derived from the Malay word "amuk" meaning "rushing in a frenzy" or "attacking furiously".
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By late 14th century, the word had morphed to mean "fussy, fastidious", and in the 1500s - " Precise, careful". By 1926, "nice" meant it was "too great a favourite with the ladies"
www.etymonline.com/w...
#wordfacts
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Did you know there is a linguistics explanation for why the "Asians are good at Math" trope might be true? Research has shown that the language you were taught ti count in might affect how you think about - and thus work with - numbers.
#wordfacts
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So, just by looking at what a population calls tea, we can determine if their ancestors traded with China via the Silk Road ( Cha) or Maritime Routes (Te) .
jyyna.co.uk/etymolog...
#wordfacts
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Did you know that your salary is a measure of how much salt you are worth? "Salary" comes from the Latin word "salārium" which means "salt money". In ancient Rome, soldiers were sometimes paid in salt - which was a valuable commodity due to it's ability to preserved food.
#wordfacts
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Did you know that the Ampersand - & - used to be the 27th Letter of the Alphabet, and is so named because it wass supposed to be said as "et per se et" (latin) or "and per se and " (english) ... but kids being kids mumbled and sped through it... giving the Symbol the name - Ampersand.
#wordfacts
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In today's #wordfacts - The oldest languages with a well-established written record is generally agreed by liguists to be Sumerian and Akkadian - both dating back at least 4,600 years!
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