Results: Word Play
Published on 10/27/2021
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If you were paying attention in English class, you may know what an onomatopoeia is. If you were "snoozing" in English, or listening to the clock "tick tock", occasionally having your mind wander outside and hearing the cats "meow" and the dogs "bark", you should know that all of these are examples of an onomatopoeia! An onomatopoeia is a word that was created to phonetically imitate, resemble, or suggest the sound that it describes. Here are a few more examples -- quack, woof, buzz, moo, purr, hiccup, splash, beep-beep, ...well, you get the idea. Did you know the name for this type of word?
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Word trivia is something I have always loved. One of my favourite things is to discover names for things that I did not know. Here are a few I have recently discovered -- are there any on this list you knew already? There is a name for "the day before yesterday." The one-word way of saying that: "nudiustertian."
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The phrase "jamais vu" is the French term for the exact opposite of "déjà vu", and means that something familiar feels foreign
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A single piece of confetti is called a "confetto"
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There is a word that describes "all things breakfast"? That word is "jentacular," or "pertaining to breakfast."
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The infinity sign is called a "lemniscate." This is derived from the Latin word for "with hanging ribbons."
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The word "qualtagh" actually refers to the first person you see after leaving your house.
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The plastic coating on the end of a shoelace is called an "aglet," and comes from the French word for "needle" (aguillette).
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The origins of words is another fascinating subject for me. Did you know the information posted or the origins of any of these words? Adult and adultery do not share an origin. While "adult" comes from the Latin verb adolescere, or "to grow up," the word "adultery" grows from the Latin verb adulterare, which means "to commit adultery" or "to corrupt."
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The word "ambulance" is rooted in the Latin word ambulare, meaning "to walk." It might seem counterintuitive—don't you need an ambulance when you can't walk to get emergency assistance?—but the word originally referred to the contraptions known as "walking hospitals."
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In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton invented the word "Pandemonium" as the name of the capital of the underworld. Stemming from the Greek words for "all" and "little spirit/demon," the term roughly translates to something like "place for all demons."
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The word "quarantine" comes from the Italian words quarantina giorni, which literally translate to "space of 40 days." In the 14th century, that's how long ships were kept in isolation—or quarantined—when they could potentially be harboring sick passengers.
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The term checkmate in chess originates with the Persian phrase "sh?h m?t" which means "the King is helpless".
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Can you think of any other word trivia to add in the comments? Yes, and I may comment
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Yes, but will not comment
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Not now
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Do not enjoy word trivia
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