Etymology of...
Speculations
Etymology of...
Speculations
Grab Bag
100
Catfish
What is Latin and Proto-Germanic
100
have whiskers like regular cats, so they may have put these two words together to have a way of referring to this particular kind of fish.
What is Catfish
100
Ranch
What is Spanish
100
means farm or cabin, and in English, we refer to a specific spanish-style farm or house most likely because the spanish word means the same thing.
What is ranch
100
Egg
What is German
200
Pagoda
What is Portuguese
200
are not part of English culture, so we just borrowed their word to refer to something in Portuguese culture.
What is pagoda
200
Royal
What is Latin
200
Throughout history, English speaking monarchs were concerned with tradition and history. They valued Latin roots and language, and therefore kept the original Latin as a way to communicate tradition and honor.
What is royal
200
Bin
What is Latin
300
banana
What is Spanish, Portuguese, or West African
300
they grow in Africa, Portugal, and Spain and did not grow in English speaking places, so they probably just borrowed the word already associated with the fruit .
What is banana
300
Khaki
What is Persian
300
means "to press or knead the muscles," so perhaps when the English had imperialistic rule over India, English people stationed there adopted the word for the process of cleaning hair by massaging in soap.
What is shampoo
300
English speakers probably picked up this word from the German "ei" because they are both West Germanic Languages and traded with each other.
What is egg
400
Okra
What is West African
400
was grown in Africa and not in English-speaking places, so when the vegetable was introduced to the English, they most likely kept the original word associated with the vegetable.
What is okra
400
Robot
What is Slavic
400
this word literally means "dust, " English speakers probably adopted this word to mean a specific type of pants because the pants are "dust" colored.
What is khaki
400
meant a cart/basket in Latin, and bins are basically the same as bins or baskets. Because baskets have been around for thousands of years, the word probably just stuck and English speakers adopted it.
What is bin
500
Kangaroo
What is Australian
500
are found in Australia and not England, so when the animal was introduced to other English speakers, they kept the original word associated with the animal.
What is kangaroo
500
Shampoo
What is Hindi
500
means "slave," so English speakers probably borrowed and adapted this word because the purpose of robots is to serve and complete tasks for their controller.
What is robot
500
the derivation of a word, or where a word comes from
What is etymology