Difference between revisions of "Essay:Surprising Dates of Origin for Terms"
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(common sense |1535 |older than one might think) |
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|1727 | |1727 | ||
|Before being picked up by science fiction writers, the word was simply an adjective meaning "humanlike". | |Before being picked up by science fiction writers, the word was simply an adjective meaning "humanlike". | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |aftermath | ||
| + | |late 1400s | ||
| + | |according to Merriam-Webster, "aftermath" originated as an agricultural term for a second crop grown on the same soil, following the "math" or gathering of the first crop | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Biblical | |Biblical | ||
| Line 42: | Line 46: | ||
|1636 | |1636 | ||
|Perhaps you thought a car company in Detroit invented this name for a sports car? Not by a long shot: it was a type of warship ranked just below a frigate | |Perhaps you thought a car company in Detroit invented this name for a sports car? Not by a long shot: it was a type of warship ranked just below a frigate | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |crocodile tears | ||
| + | |1563 | ||
| + | |insincere compassion with fake tears; were there liberals back in 1563? | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |crucifix | ||
| + | |early 1200s | ||
| + | |wow, that's an early date of origin for an English word! | ||
|- | |- | ||
|dead hand | |dead hand | ||
| Line 54: | Line 66: | ||
|1702 | |1702 | ||
|The term "diploma" seems to be an invention of atheistic sentiments in the Enlightenment, and unrelated to scholarly achievement or even the development of the universities hundreds of years earlier | |The term "diploma" seems to be an invention of atheistic sentiments in the Enlightenment, and unrelated to scholarly achievement or even the development of the universities hundreds of years earlier | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |estoppel | ||
| + | |1531 | ||
| + | |This is an early date of origin for a relatively sophisticated legal concept. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|exclamation point | |exclamation point | ||
| Line 106: | Line 122: | ||
|before 1100s | |before 1100s | ||
|Think landlord problems are new? This is one of the very oldest words in the English language. That revelation then opens one's eyes to what the word really is: Lord of the land, in the feudal system. | |Think landlord problems are new? This is one of the very oldest words in the English language. That revelation then opens one's eyes to what the word really is: Lord of the land, in the feudal system. | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |monopolist | ||
| + | |1601 | ||
| + | |someone who monopolizes - a concept that predates the [[Sherman Act]] by nearly three centuries! | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |Mother Nature | ||
| + | |1551 | ||
| + | |that is more than 450 years ago! Today [[liberals]] avoid the term due to [[feminists]]. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|pole vault | |pole vault | ||
| Line 118: | Line 142: | ||
|1678 | |1678 | ||
|Nearly a hundred years after "[[atheism]]" (1587). Perhaps such an obvious position that no word was required until atheism became more widespread? | |Nearly a hundred years after "[[atheism]]" (1587). Perhaps such an obvious position that no word was required until atheism became more widespread? | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |theorem | ||
| + | |1551 | ||
| + | |a surprisingly early date of origin for this important mathematical concept | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |triple play | ||
| + | |1869 | ||
| + | |a term in baseball, but look how early it originated! That is only four years after the end of the [[Civil War]], which confirms that baseball games were played among troops, even between the North and the South, during the War.<ref>http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/2012/04/the-game-of-baseball-before-during-and-after-the-civil-war/</ref> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |utopia | ||
| + | |1516 | ||
| + | |coined by Saint [[Thomas More]] from the Greek roots for "no" and "place", he made it the title of his book in demonstrating that a utopia can never exist. | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |weird | ||
| + | |1400s | ||
| + | |originally referred to witchcraft, and [[Shakespeare]] used it for that meaning in ''[[Macbeth]]''. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|worldwide | |worldwide | ||
|1632 | |1632 | ||
|Did people really think in terms of the entire world nearly 400 years ago? Apparently so. | |Did people really think in terms of the entire world nearly 400 years ago? Apparently so. | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |zero | ||
| + | |1604 | ||
| + | |Not a word in English until after [[Shakespeare]] wrote most of his plays! Shakespeare never used the term "zero" in any of his surviving works. | ||
|} | |} | ||
| Line 134: | Line 178: | ||
[[Category:Essays]] | [[Category:Essays]] | ||
| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Surprising Dates of Origin for Terms}} | ||
Revision as of 22:37, May 5, 2017
One can learn history simply by skimming a dictionary that has the date of origin for terms. There are many surprises. Add to our growing list:
| New Term | Origin date | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Advent | 1100s | The English language itself did not begin until after Christmas Day, 1066, when William the Conqueror became the first Norman King of England in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey.[1] |
| android | 1727 | Before being picked up by science fiction writers, the word was simply an adjective meaning "humanlike". |
| aftermath | late 1400s | according to Merriam-Webster, "aftermath" originated as an agricultural term for a second crop grown on the same soil, following the "math" or gathering of the first crop |
| Biblical | 1780-1790 | It's hard to imagine such a late date of origin. Perhaps the word became necessary as an increasing number of people turned away from the authority of the Bible? |
| busybody | 1526 | This problem predates Facebook by nearly 500 years! |
| complex | 1652 | a surprisingly late date of origin for such a widely used adjective |
| continental drift | 1926 | that's surprisingly recent for such a simple concept; wonder what held it up? |
| bill of rights | 1798 | Wow: that's many years after it was added to the Constitution! |
| common sense | 1535 | older than one might think |
| corvette | 1636 | Perhaps you thought a car company in Detroit invented this name for a sports car? Not by a long shot: it was a type of warship ranked just below a frigate |
| crocodile tears | 1563 | insincere compassion with fake tears; were there liberals back in 1563? |
| crucifix | early 1200s | wow, that's an early date of origin for an English word! |
| dead hand | 1300s | an oppressive, unjustified influence of the past; this problem is not new, and led to the Rule Against Perpetuities in property law |
| dinosaur | 1841 | surprisingly late date of origin, the term means "terrifying lizard," which raises the question of why its real name of lizard is not used today |
| diploma | 1702 | The term "diploma" seems to be an invention of atheistic sentiments in the Enlightenment, and unrelated to scholarly achievement or even the development of the universities hundreds of years earlier |
| estoppel | 1531 | This is an early date of origin for a relatively sophisticated legal concept. |
| exclamation point | 1824 | never used, not even once, by the King James Version? |
| fellowship (verb) | 1300s | to gather together in honor of Christ, often in a new church ... yet it predates Protestantism by two centuries?! |
| fire and brimstone | 1200s | this concept is not new to describe the torment inflicted upon sinners |
| fission | 1617 | Looks like nuclear fission is not a new idea after all! |
| flagpole | 1884 | What did flags hang on for centuries before that? Flagstaffs. |
| foul play | 1400s | Predates baseball by 400 years; Merriam-Webster defines it to mean violence and especially murder. |
| free will | 1200s | That's surprisingly early for this terrific insight. |
| has-been | 1606 | It's surprising that this descriptive term predates modern media by several centuries! |
| hello | 1889 | What was the prior greeting? Is this surprisingly late date of origin due to the invention of the telephone? |
| incorrigible | 1300s | This term means incapable or unwilling to be corrected. Liberals have been around since the 1300s?! |
| John Hancock | 1903 | Why did it take more than a century for the famous signatory's name to become a colloquialism for "signature"? |
| landmark | before 1100s | Land was much more important in culture and the economy before the Information Age. |
| landlord | before 1100s | Think landlord problems are new? This is one of the very oldest words in the English language. That revelation then opens one's eyes to what the word really is: Lord of the land, in the feudal system. |
| monopolist | 1601 | someone who monopolizes - a concept that predates the Sherman Act by nearly three centuries! |
| Mother Nature | 1551 | that is more than 450 years ago! Today liberals avoid the term due to feminists. |
| pole vault | 1890 | Apparently this was not a recognized athletic field event much before the revival of the Olympics in 1896. |
| separation of church and state | 1802 | More than ten years after the adoption of the First Amendment, the least Christian of the early presidents (Thomas Jefferson) used the phrase for the first time in an appeasing letter to Baptists. (It's also important to note that he used the term to assure them that their religious rights took precedence over the government--not the other way around.) The Supreme Court did not endorse this phrase until the liberal Justice Hugo Black used the term in 1947 (Everson v. Board of Education). (The Court also quoted from the Jefferson without endorsing the phrase in the 1879 polygamy case of Reynolds v. United States). |
| theism | 1678 | Nearly a hundred years after "atheism" (1587). Perhaps such an obvious position that no word was required until atheism became more widespread? |
| theorem | 1551 | a surprisingly early date of origin for this important mathematical concept |
| triple play | 1869 | a term in baseball, but look how early it originated! That is only four years after the end of the Civil War, which confirms that baseball games were played among troops, even between the North and the South, during the War.[2] |
| utopia | 1516 | coined by Saint Thomas More from the Greek roots for "no" and "place", he made it the title of his book in demonstrating that a utopia can never exist. |
| weird | 1400s | originally referred to witchcraft, and Shakespeare used it for that meaning in Macbeth. |
| worldwide | 1632 | Did people really think in terms of the entire world nearly 400 years ago? Apparently so. |
| zero | 1604 | Not a word in English until after Shakespeare wrote most of his plays! Shakespeare never used the term "zero" in any of his surviving works. |
