Post Eagle Newspaper

Wednesday

Nov 13, 2024

67°F, clear sky
New Jersey

Time Now

12:00:00

Humbug, Entomology, Etymology

The word for today is HUMBUG, and it does not come from Latin or Greek. It has an interesting origin from an entomologist who lived and taught in a university a few hundred years ago. It seemed that a number of biology students wished to trick their professor. They pieced together the legs of a grasshopper, the body of a beetle, and the head of an ant. Then they presented the insect to their professor and asked him what kind of bug this was. The professor asked if the insect had been alive when they caught it. To which they replied in the affirmative. Then the professor asked if the insect was humming when they caught it. To which they replied in the affirmative. The professor then replied, “well, then, it must be a HUMBUG.”

By the way, the word ENTOMOLOGY means THE STUDY OF INSECTS. It comes from the Greek words: ENTOMOS – INSECT and LOGOS – STUDY OF.

The word ETYMOLOGY means THE STUDY OF THE TRUE MEANING OF WORDS. It comes from the Greek – ETYMOS – true meaning and LOGOS – study of. The word LOGOS also means THE WORD.