Etymology Essays

How do we see courage? To most, a picture of a young, caped, man would come to mind. Plummeting from the shadows of a tall building, he would save a frightened city from a catastrophic ending. Although I am quite sure that this fictional man has a tremendous amount of courage—risking his life for the sake of humanity and all—the term courage can be expanded into a far more in depth definition. According to Merriam Webster dictionary the word courage can simply be defined as the “mental or moral strength

The Norman conquest impacted the English language in many ways. One way that it had an impact was that it created a better standard of use of inflections. Due to the power the French had in England at the time, the people struggled to accommodate the language along with other outside influences. The simplification of the use of inflections meant that the upper ruling class were able to do business in England more easily so it it was of great interest to them. Another effect was that the French, instead

of time, I’ve learned many new words and terms in both social studies and reading. The first word I learned that I never even heard of before was etymology. Etymology is the origin of a word and how that word became what it is now. Knowing the etymologies of words helps me better understand a word. Before 8th grade, I never even noticed that etymologies existed in dictionaries.

Etymology in the Eye of the Beholder Language is created, formed, and developed over time; therefore, a word is not simply used to describe another thing, but is a part of language that has a history and possibly many meanings. The word eye has passed through language after language each assigning it a new spelling and an altered meaning which reveal the word’s history or etymology. The etymology includes the history, definitions, alternate meanings, and uses of the word eye in various works

In 1885, Mark Twain, renowned travel writer, lecturer, humorist and novelist, published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young adult novel following the events in the life of an all American-rebel boy and a runaway slave. Although Twain has written many successful novels with little negative feedback, Huckleberry Finn pulls in numerous controversial debates relating to almost every aspect about the novel. The language in the novel spikes attention in readers, whether it is the profanity or the

words that we have always been told to avoid. Some were raised as being chastised, and even punished for even muttering a word off this list. One word, the “f-word,” has been a particularly heinous word crime since its assumed inception in 1475. The etymology of the word “fuck” is obscure and uncertain, but one thing is known: the meaning and use of the word has evolved over time. Fuck may have not originated as an insult or an expletive like it was previously being used. Formerly considered one of the

however, some see the word in a positive way because for some, revenge is fun and interesting to them. However, Emilia uses it in a vindictive way. The etymology of the word “revenge” helps us further understand why Emilia saw fit to use this word. The word comes from the latin word “vindicare” meaning "to lay claim to, avenge, punish" (Online Etymology). In this passage, Shakespeare continues to use imagery throughout to express how Emilia thinks that men underestimate

interesting aspects, and why I choose the word emotion. The meaning of emotion has shifted drastically over time. In the 1570s, the word had the meaning of “moving, stirring, agitation”(Online Etymology Dictionary). It was actually in the 1650s when the word again changed to “a sense of strong feeling” (Online Etymology Dictionary). In the academic journal, “Toward a History of Emotion” by David Thorley, it explains an alteration to the word emotion, “The culture shift from passion to emotion that took

Perhaps the most misunderstood term, Blessed Be has many myths and misconceptions surrounding it as well. Many Wiccans believe that Blessed Be is just a casual greeting or farewell. However, when we look at the etymology, the confusion is cleared that it means something “holy, to consecrate or give thanks to”. Thus the sacredness attributed to this word can be justified. In Wicca, Blessed Be is used as “may you be blessed by the Goddess”. Since this term is uttered with the intent that the Deity

capitalized and italicized, is significant as well. Typically, “pagan is […] applied to those nations that, although worshiping false gods, are more cultivated, as the Greeks and Romans, and heathen to uncivilized idolaters, as the tribes of Africa” (Etymology Dictionary: Pagan). Therefore, using the word “pagan” rather than “heathen” is actually a conscious choice on Wheatley’s part to show Africa in a more positive light: suggesting that the lack of Christianity was the only problem, and that the people

What does the word “murder” mean? When the word murder comes to mind many people suggest a shooting, stabbing or beating to death. Murder is the worst crime one can commit. There are levels to the crime of murder as well, first degree, second degree and third degree. The degrees of murder are all different, either it was manslaughter, murder or justifiable murder. All these involve a death, whether it was accidental, justified or not. This word is used commonly and has been looked at as one big

Words. They can kill. They can destroy. They can build. They can create. They can form a new empire; they can destroy one as well. They can heal the wounded and destroy the powerful. They can form a new bond or can destroy an old one. They can bring smiles to those in the lowest pits, and they can cause misery to those on the topmost mountains. There’s a word that can do all these things and multitudes more. It is often dubbed as one of the most undefinable words in the world and its name is ‘love’

The tone of the blues is a melancholic, sharp, slow tone. On the other hand the jazz has more of a swinging, generally associated with smoothness but can be abstract and hyper as well. The etymology of the blues is that in west African mysticism, mourners garments were dyed blue to indicate suffering. The etymology of the jazz is likely derived from jasm, a now obsolete slang term meaning energy. They were both documented in the early 1900’s. In 1980 the blues first published a music sheet by Antonio

This suits Lysander’s feelings and poetic love for Hermia. The etymology of beauteous is an interesting one. Coming from the root word beauty with the suffix –ous, beauteous is most likely influenced by other words like luscious, sensuous, and voluptuous. The second definition of beauteous is: “highly attractive or

I am 24 years old, I am getting old and that is a fear for me, especially without higher education. I am grateful for this opportunity, had I had the funds I would have earned a Masters Degree and getting ready to get the masters. I chose to pursue my education at this time in my life because I saw an opportunity, one I have been waiting for in forever and I am ceasing. This will definitely help me to be better developed for my career. Currently, working in the BPO industry I know that doing this

especially a man) homosexual. But this is just one of a huge selection of definitions that the word has taken over the course of history. The three of us were deeply interested in the etymology of the word gay- after finding out the fact that different meanings of the word have dwelled beforehand. In fact, etymology not only explores into the deep roots of words, but also, as I mentioned before, intends to look at how definitions of them have changed over time. Words are no different to everything

In the following section I will critically analyse and evaluate Anoop Nayak’s use of “race” in class analysis in his article Beyond the Pale: Chavs, Youth and Social Class (2009). Nayak’s article contends that some white working-class subcultural groups have been othered to the extent that these subcultural groups could be termed as “raced”; in other words, media and political discourses “racialised” groups such as “Football ‘Hooligans’, Skinheads, Teds and Hell’s Angels” (2009: 28). Nayak’s article

Anyone who even has little to no knowledge of the bible has more than likely heard the name Moses. For people who follow the Bible closely, Moses is most certainly a man of importance to them and their faith. If you would ask these people was Moses and Egyptian or a Jew, they would say he was a Jew. Throughout this essay Freud makes many claims that would hint at Moses being an Egyptian and not a Jew. A few claims that Freud makes towards Moses being an Egyptian are the origin of his name, the myths

I find this etymology to be interesting because if you disregard the part about the radio signals the definition becomes “to be guided to a destination”. To me, this means that home is the destination that your heart guides you towards. This shows how the word home has

Without knowledge of any other languages, it is difficult to comprehend a community whom do not possess the ability to mentally construct the same meaningful concepts as oneself. It can be exceptionally easy to be misinterpreted in another language via the complex process of translation. Sure, what one person might say makes complete sense to themselves, but it makes less sense to the person you are speaking to for they do not share the same cultural backgrounds and values, and do not have a direct