word etymology assignment

Assignment etymology

English word assignment comes from Old French (842-ca. 1400) assignement

Etymology of assignment

Detailed word origin of assignment.

English 370 Etymology Project

Morphology and Etymology and Dictionaries: Word History Assignment

The object of this assignment is simply to get you to familiarize yourself with the wealth of etymological history that many of our "normal" words in English have. To do this I'm asking you to look around in the IE (linguists don't always include the Proto- part of Proto-Indo-European) section of the American Heritage Dictionary, read some of the entries, and get a sense of how varied the derived words can be. I give you some examples here of words I think have interesting histories; I'm asking you to find one of your own. You can just browse the roots, looking for sets of related words.

One such root is *ang- (number 1 below), which is the root of anger , angina , anxiety , and angst . It once meant "tightness or pain," and that basic meaning is still central to each of its descendants. Anger is a tightness that can feel painful (mentally if not physically) , angina is a physically painful condition of the heart; anxiety is a mentally painful (maybe not physically painful) emotion, and angst is a borrowing from the German which in the 20th century became a way of talking about an "object-less anxiety": a particular kind of anxiety often associated with a sense of existential meaninglessness.

The chief object of this exercise, though, is just to spend 30 minutes to an hour using the amazing AH Dictionary to introduce yourself to the deep history of the English language and the ways meanings have developed over time. (Details and examples of the assignment itself are below the examples--scroll down to find them.)

1. Hangnail: *ang nogh (tightness, pain in the shape of a nail) Anger, Angina, anxiety. Plus “spike” or “nail” (from *nogh- “spike, claw”). A hangnail is a painful nail-shaped spike of skin.

2. Venerable: *wen- (want, desire + able) = venerate, veneration, venereal, Venus, venison; win, wish. Venus is thus the goddess of “want” or “desire,” and the things you did in pursuit of that desire, like venereal disease, follow from that need. Venison is a (broadened) result of your hunting, venari in Latin, which is an activity that leads towards satisfying a need (“want”) or desire.

3. Melancholy: *ghel-2 = melancholic; yellow, gold, choler, cholera, glint, glare, glad. Choler was yellow bile, paired in ancient medicine with black bile. Choler made you fiery; Black bile made you nightlike, dark, brooding, student-ish.

4. Quintessence: *penk we (the very best, the most perfect) = quintessential; five, finger, quinque, cinq (French), punch (as a drink)—from Hindi descent and borrowed back into English!!! It gets its meaning from its being an alchemical term: the “fifth” element. Ancient science had a theory of the four elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. They were thought to make up all things. With the invention of the still, and thereby the production of alcohol, a fifth element—the “quintessence” —was added to the first four. This newly discovered element was imagined as a blend of fire and water—it was wet, and miscible with water, but it also burned. Water and fire.

5. Cherish: *ka (to hold dear) = cherishable (?); caress, charity, “cara” in Spanish; “cher” in French, meaning valued and/or expensive. Also in English “whore”—something “dear” in a way but also expensive. The double meaning of the Latin based words (“loved,” and “expensive”) extends to many of the Romance languages.

6. Candle *kand- (“shine, shining”) = to candle, candler; candescence, candid, candor, candidate (and how do you suppose this happened?), incense (that resulting from the burning of a candle).

7. Carrot *ker (1) (“horn”) = carrot top, carrot-shaped; head, horn, heart, along with cheer, corner, cervix (>Latin for “neck”).

8. Awkward *apo- (“after”) = awkwardly; after, post (as in a position to which one is assigned) not a post in the ground!), position, ebb, pogrom, suppose, component, compose

9. Ladder *klei- “to lean” = ladders, laddered (as in stockings); lean, decline, recline, proclivity, climax, climate, client, clitoris

10. Matrimony *mater- “mother” = matrimonial; matrix, metropolis, matter, Demeter, maternal, matriarchal, matriculate.

11. Testimony *trei- “three” = testimonial; three, trio, triad, testicle, testify, contest, tri-, triple, sitar (!) (via Persian).

12. Special *spek- (see “species,” the root of special ) = speciality, extra special, specialness, specimen, despise, despicable, inspect, respect, skeptic, scope.

13. Clear *kel ǝ(2)- “to shout” = clarity, clearness, unclear, clarify, claim, exclaim, council, clamor, ecclesiastic, clear, declare, nomenclature, class.

14. Scissors * kaə-id- “to strike” = To scissor, scissors kick, concise, incisive, incision, precise, decide, chisel (Compare 15 and 16).

Addendum showing the difficulty of being sure about etymologies: even words that are much alike in their modern forms may not be from the same ancient root.

15. Shirt *sker(1)- “to cut, divide off” = tee shirt, dress shirt, shear, share, score, scabbard, scar, shard, short, shirt, screen, skirt, shore.

16. Science *skei- “to cut, to split” = science, conscience, nice, shit, omniscience, sheath, ski, schism, rescind, squire, esquire.

The Report assignment:

Peruse the PIE section of the American Heritage online dictionary. ( ahdictionary.com ) First scan entries to find a set of meaning that interests you (like those given above). Then explain the origin of your chosen word, along with the words it's connected to. You'll be sharing your research in groups in class on Monday.

Be sure to include:

1. Meaning of the word itself, its IE root, and how derived from its root; 2. Compounds and Cognates: 3 to 5, with connection explained.

Best sources: OED http://www.oed.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/

and American Heritage. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/indoeurop.html#IR116300

(You will be well advised to use them both )

Emulous . From Latin, aemulus , itself derived from the PIE root *aim-

Definition:

1. Eager or ambitious to equal or surpass another. He was emulous of his brother's wealth

2. Characterized or prompted by a spirit of rivalry. The match was played between emulous competitors.

3. Obsolete Covetous of power or honor; envious. The lad was aemulous of Achilles' mythic status

The English form comes from Latin, aemulus , itself derived from the IE root * aim - whose original sense was “to imitate.” Other words derived from this root in current English include “imitate” and “image.” Most interesting is the connection to “imagine” (and thus to “imagination”). Thus “imagination” is connected with the same root sense as imaging—creating images?—and/or perhaps “trying to be like something”?

Hide . From Old English, hydan , itself derived from the PIE *(s)keu

The English "hide" descends from the Germanic Old English hȳdan. Its PIE origin was *(s)keu = to cover, conceal. (PIE [k] changed over time into the English [h]--both are velar consonants) Related words include: hide, hose, huddle, custodian, custody . Hiding would seem to have an obvious connection to “cover” or “conceal.” That which is covered is hidden. But the connection to hose/long pants is more surprising, though “hose” does indeed "cover" one’s legs. Most interesting connection for me is the notion of “custody” as a form of “hiding” or "covering"something. That is a more metaphorical extension of the basic sense.

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Etymology – ENGL 334

CG • Section 8WK • 07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 09/05/2023

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Course Description

This course is a study of the etymology of the English language with a focus on its changing vocabulary, syntax, and development into a world language.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the  Academic Course Catalog .

The student of the English language is a student of its language arts, of reading and writing, and of its literature, and therefore of the stuff of which the language is made, its grammar and its vocabulary. The English vocabulary is the largest of any language in the world, containing words borrowed principally from Greek, Latin, and French, but also from its other European neighbors, as well as from language all around the globe. A study of the history of the words of the language is a study of the cultures and the historical developments that have made the language what it is.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

After reading the Course Syllabus and  Student Expectations , the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will have two discussions that require them to analyze etymological insights found throughout the study of the course. Each thread must be at least 150 words, and each reply must be 150-200 words. (CLO: A, C, D)

Exercise Quizzes (22)

These Exercise Quizzes are a scaffolded quiz group.

Exercise Quizzes (12)

There are 12 Exercise Quizzes in this course. These constitute a major part of the work for this course. These quizzes are rather lengthy and will require careful attention to detail both in the investigation of the histories of words and in filling out the answers to the exercise questions. Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 10-30 questions of varying types, and have no time limit. (CLO: B, C, D, E)

Exercise: Word Analysis Quizzes (10)

There are 10 Word Analysis Quizzes in this course which are closely related to the 12 Exercise Quizzes in this course. These constitute a major part of the work for this course. These quizzes are rather lengthy and will require careful attention to detail both in the investigation of the histories of words and in filling out the answers to the exercise questions. It will be very important for the student to read over the instructions for these quizzes and to observe them carefully. Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 6-35 fill-in-the-blank and fill in multiple blanks questions, and have no time limit. (CLO: B, C, D, E)

Practice Quizzes (6)

There are six practice quizzes which will provide the student the same questions that will eventually be asked on the eight quizzes. The purpose of these is to prepare students for these quizzes so they can know what to expect with regards to the short time frame for taking these quizzes and the expectation that these quizzes are based on memorization not looking up course material. (CLO: B, C, D, E)

Quizzes (8)

There are eight quizzes for the course on word parts borrowed from Greek and Latin. The grades for these quizzes will constitute a quarter of the grade for the course. Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 10-75 fill in multiple blanks, and have a 4-30 minutes time limit. (CLO: B, C, D, E)

Essay Assignments (2)

There are two essays in this course that should be 750 to 1000 words in length. The first is on word histories and the second on the influence of Christianity on the vocabularies of English. Student essays should reflect an appropriate level of research and should be documented in MLA or APA format. Focus for these essays should be on insightful analysis and clear articulation. (CLO: A, D)

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The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology  

Edited by: t. f. hoad.

Based on The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology , the principal authority on the origin and development of English words, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology contains a wealth of information about the English language and its history. Find out where the words 'bungalow' and 'assassin' came from, what 'nice' meant in the Middle Ages and much more.

Bibliographic Information

Affiliations are at time of print publication..

T. F. Hoad is Fellow and Tutor in English language and Medieval Literature at St Peter's College, Oxford.

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date: 09 April 2024

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ENC 1101 - Essay Assignments (Brandon): Etymology - Online reference sources

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Etymology Online

If you can't consult the dictionaries of etymology in the Library, here are three links that may be useful:

(The first two links are to the HCC Subscription databases, and require a log in.  Borrower ID = student number; PIN = last four of that number.)

Oxford English Dictionary - this is a rather complicated source and gives you the history of the word usage in (usually) great detail.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary - The link connects you to Oxford Reference Online.  Click on English Language Reference>Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology.  (this source gives a very short sentence about your word.)

Etymology Dictionary Online - a source from the free web that is clear and easy to use.

Online Dictionaries

Please consult the "Home" Tab for log-in information to HCC Online Resources.

• Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press) HCC Online Resource
• Oxford Reference Online Premium (Oxford University Press) More than 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference from Oxford University Press. Click Subject to access volumes under each category. Click Reference Type to select subject reference, dictionaries, timelines, and more. Funding source: FLVC group license. Here is a tutorial .
• The concise Oxford dictionary of English etymology HCC Resource available in Oxford Reference Online.
• Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins HCC Resource available within Oxford Reference Online.
• Merriam-Webster’s Online
• YourDictionary.com more... less... YourDictionary is a free online English dictionary and much more.
• Subject Websites - Reference HCC List of Reference websites.

Online Encyclopedias & Reference Sources

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Includes encyclopedia articles, full-text journal and magazine articles, primary sources, multimedia, and other resources and tools for your research. Funded by FLVC group license. Here is a tutorial .

• Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (EBSCO) HCC Online Resource
• Oxford Reference Online Premium (Oxford University Press) HCC Online Resource. Searchable database of over 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
• Gale Ebooks HCC Resource. GVRL offers more than 85 reference sources.
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• Wikipedia Ask your instructor if you can use this resource. If so, compare the information with one of the encyclopedias listed above.
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assignation (n.)

early 14c., assignacioun , "appointment by authority," from Old French assignacion (14c., Modern French assignation ), from Latin assignationem (nominative assignatio ) "an assigning, allotment," noun of action from past-participle stem of assignare / adsignare "to mark out, to allot by sign, assign, award," from ad "to" (see ad- ) + signare "make a sign," from signum "identifying mark, sign" (see sign (n.)).

The meaning "action of legally transferring" (a right or property) is from 1570s; that of "a meeting by arrangement, tryst" is from 1650s, especially for a love-affair; assignation-house (1849) was an old euphemism for "brothel."

Entries linking to assignation

early 13c., signe , "gesture or motion of the hand," especially one meant to express thought or convey an idea, from Old French signe "sign, mark," from Latin signum "identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof; military standard, ensign; a signal, an omen; sign in the heavens, constellation."

According to Watkins, literally "standard that one follows," from PIE *sekw-no- , from root *sekw- (1) "to follow." De Vaan has it from PIE *sekh-no- "cut," from PIE root *sek- "to cut" He writes: "The etymological appurtenance to seco 'to cut' implies a semantic shift of *sek-no- 'what is cut out', 'carved out' > 'sign'." But he also also compares Hebrew sakkin , Aramaic sakkin "slaughtering-knife," and mentions a theory that "both words are probably borrowed from an unknown third source."

It has ousted native token . By c. 1300 as "an indication of some coming event." The meaning "a visible mark or device having some special meaning" is recorded from late 13c.; that of "miraculous manifestation, a miracle demonstrating divine power" is from c. 1300. In reference to one of the 12 divisions of the zodiac, from mid-14c.

The sense of "inscribed board with a characteristic device attached to the front of an inn, shop, etc.," to distinguish it from others is recorded from mid-15c. The meaning "indicator, token or signal of some condition" (late 13c.) is behind sign of the times (1520s). The meaning "conventional mark or symbol in place of words" (in music, mathematics, etc., as in plus sign) is by 1550s. In some uses, the word probably is a shortening of ensign . 

word-forming element expressing direction toward or in addition to, from Latin ad "to, toward" in space or time; "with regard to, in relation to," as a prefix, sometimes merely emphatic, from PIE root *ad- "to, near, at."

Simplified to a- before sc- , sp- and st- ; modified to ac- before many consonants and then re-spelled af- , ag- , al- , etc., in conformity with the following consonant (as in affection , aggression ). Also compare ap- (1).

In Old French, reduced to a- in all cases (an evolution already underway in Merovingian Latin), but French refashioned its written forms on the Latin model in 14c., and English did likewise 15c. in words it had picked up from Old French. In many cases pronunciation followed the shift.

Over-correction at the end of the Middle Ages in French and then English "restored" the -d- or a doubled consonant to some words that never had it ( accursed , afford ). The process went further in England than in France (where the vernacular sometimes resisted the pedantic), resulting in English adjourn , advance , address , advertisement (Modern French ajourner , avancer , adresser , avertissement ). In modern word-formation sometimes ad- and ab- are regarded as opposites, but this was not in classical Latin.

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Definition of etymology noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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One theory tying the source of April Fools' Day to Roman times is a hoax. In 1983, an Associated Press reporter reached out to Joseph Boskin, a historian at Boston University, to discuss the origins of April Fools' Day. Boskin spun a tall tale to the reporter, assuming it would be fact-checked and revealed as fake. 

It wasn't. 

According to the story Boskin made up, a group of jesters convinced Emperor Constantine to make one of them king for a day. The appointed jester, named Kugel, declared it would be a day of levity. 

"I got an immediate phone call from an editor there, who was furious, saying that I had ruined the career of a young reporter," Boskin said in a Boston University post. "He said I told a lie. 'A lie?' I asked, 'I was telling an April Fools' Day story.'"

Middle Ages 

Some historians believe France is responsible for the humorous tradition, tying it to a calendar change in 1582, according to the History Channel . That year, France implemented the Gregorian calendar, shifting the start of the New Year from the spring equinox, which usually falls around April 1, to January 1. 

After the change, people who wrongly celebrated the new year in late March and early April were called "April fools."

The first clear reference to April Fools' Day is a 1561 Flemish poem by Eduard De Dene, which tells the story of a servant being sent on "fool's errands" because it's April 1, according to the Library of Congress. 

What are some famous April Fools' Day pranks?

In 1957, the BBC ran a broadcast on the Italian spaghetti harvest  that pretended the pasta was being harvested from trees. 

The BBC also ran an April Fools' report on flying penguins in 2008.

In Los Angeles, airline passengers were greeted with a banner saying "Welcome to Chicago" after landing on April 1, 1992, CBS Sunday Morning previously reported.

Taco Bell in 1996 advertised that it had bought the Liberty Bell and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell," according to the company.

As part of a 1997 April Fools' Day joke, Alex Trebek, host of "Jeopardy," swapped places with "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak, according to jeopardy.com .

On April 1, 2015, streaming giant Netflix shared faux public service announcements to remind viewers to "Binge Responsibly."

• April Fools' Day

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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Word of the Day

What it means.

Redoubt can refer specifically to a small building or area that provides soldiers with protection from attack, or more broadly to any safe or protected place, whether literal or figurative.

// A massive stone redoubt at the entrance of the bay guarded the city.

// The refugees gathered in a hilly redoubt several miles from the outskirts of town.

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redoubt in Context

"Pittsburgh has spent decades building itself as a world mecca for robotics technology and applications. The key to Pittsburgh's development into a robotics center has been the presence of Carnegie-Mellon University, a historic redoubt of technology that continues to evolve successfully; among its current distinctives is that it offers the nation's No. 1 graduate-degree program in artificial intelligence, according to [Joel] Reed [president of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network]." — Dale Buss, Forbes 28 Apr. 2023

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• The business’s new computer system proved not to be a panacea .
• Obstacle Cure-all
• Secure space Costly burden

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Did You Know?

Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable , both of which come from the Latin verb dubitare , meaning "to be in doubt." But that's not the case. Redoubt actually comes to us (via the French word redoute and the Italian word ridotto ) from a different Latin verb— reducere , meaning "to lead back," the same root that gives us reduce . How that b ended up in redoubt is a lingering question, but some etymologists have posited that the word might have been conflated with another redoubt —a now-archaic verb meaning "to regard with awe, dismay, or dread" which, unlike its twin, does indubitably come from dubitare .

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Today’s ‘wordle’ #1025 hints, clues and answer for tuesday, april 9th.

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How to solve today's Wordle.

Looking for Monday’s Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here:

It’s Tuesday and it snowed yesterday when I was firmly of the belief that it was springtime. What’s up with that?

I’m also juggling a bunch of stuff and very late to this post. So let’s dive right in!

How To Solve Today’s Wordle

The Hint: Lane to lane.

The Clue: Today’s Wordle has a double letter.

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The Answer:

Wordle Analysis

Today's Wordle

Every day I check Wordle Bot to see how I did. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here .

Well things started out lousy. Hoist is probably a better second guess than first. 677 words remained after guess #1, which I slashed down to just 8 with crane.

Revue knocked out all the rest of the words leaving me with just merge for the win. Huzzah!

Competitive Wordle Score

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How To Play Competitive Wordle

Guessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.

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Today’s Wordle Etymology

The word 'merge' comes from the Latin word mergere , meaning "to dip, immerse, plunge into water" or figuratively "to engulf, immerse, plunge into," indicating a sense of sinking into a liquid. The use of mergere evolved over time in the Latin-speaking world, and as Latin evolved into the Romance languages, the word and its derivatives carried over into several of them with similar meanings.

By the time it entered English in the early 17th century, 'merge' retained the sense of joining or combining, extending beyond the literal immersion in water to a more figurative sense of entities coming together to form a single unit. The financial and corporate connotation of 'merge', as in the combining of companies, is a more modern development of the word, reflecting the broader application of the concept of entities coming together in various contexts.

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