The words for today are legal terms. SUBPOENA as we all know is an order to appear in court or to supply documents to the court. It comes from the Latin – SUB – meaning UNDER, and POENA – meaning PENALTY. If one does not comply there can be a penalty imposed. In ancient Roman …
There is a certain amount of INTRIGUE in attempting to EXTRICATE oneself from TRIVIALITIES. Some time ago we looked at the words: TRIVIA, TRIVIAL, VIA, DEVIATE, OBVIATE, OBVIOUS, SUBVIA etc. and saw the derivation from the Latin root word – VIA which means ROAD, STREET, WAY. The meaning of TRIVIA, TRIVIAL comes from ancient Rome …
Today’s word is CANARY which comes from the Latin word CANIS which means DOG. The Romans sailed beyond the Rock of Gibraltar and came upon a group of islands west of the African continent. The sailors were greeted by large yellow haired dogs which inhabited this particular island. Therefore, they named this the Island of …
Today’s word is – MILITARY. It comes from the Latin word – MILES, MILITIS- which means soldier. Many will remember the name – MILES STANDISH – from our American history course in High School and some will recall the character in the broadway play – A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM …
Today’s words – DELIRIOUS, RECALCITRANT, and INCULCATE – are derived from Latin words pertaining to farming. It is interesting to see how these words have evolved over the years and have lost their connection to everyday farming in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. The word DELIRIOUS, DELIRIUM – which means – to be in an …
Today’s words are ARENA and GLADIATOR. ARENA – where the gladiators fought. ARENA comes from the Greek word for SAND. In Greek it is spelled HAERENA. Sand was used in the arena to soak up the blood. When the dead body was dragged through the Death Gate, sand was sprinkled or raked over the blood. …
Ancient Romans did a lot of walking. Roman engineers built a network of roads throughout Italy and the Empire. As the Roman army marched into Spain, Gaul, Austria, Germany, Asia Minor and Africa, the engineering corps provided quick access with their skill in building roads. They would build fires at long distances apart and survey …
Today’s word is: HOCUS-POCUS. The word has evolved down through the years from some religious and Christian influence. HOCUS-POCUS is an incantation; a magical term used by magicians to change things right before your very eyes; or, to make something disappear. It comes from the Latin – HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM – which translated means – FOR THIS IS MY BODY. In the …
The word today is CLOY, TO CLOY, CLOYED from the Latin verb CLAVARE which means TO NAIL. Today the word means to oversweeten, to gag. When you eat so much chocolate that you cannot eat another piece, your taste is cloyed. When you consume so many meatballs that one more would make you gag, you are cloyed. If you …
