This is a Guest Entry posted by Amanda
I teach fifth grade. Last year my fifth graders asked me why "lb" is the abbreviation of "pound."
Good question. Stump the teacher, kids, congrats. (They did this at least once a day, of which I am very proud.)
THIS website explains it all.
In dissecting "pound" I also found out 7.5 seconds used to be called an "ounce," as well as a length of just over 3 inches.
Look up "maidenhead" and "godhead" and learn something interesting about the suffix -head.
Look of "February" and "May" and find out why those are the names. (After all, the rest are pretty easy to figure out, Janus, Mars, Venus (Aphrodite), Juno, Julius, Augustus and the remaining months from the prefixes meaning seven, eight, nine, and ten.)
It's free.
It's fantastic.
Online Etymology.
Enjoy.
Flown by Amanda at 06:19 PM on July 27, 2004
Comments
Hello again. I've been silent a long time, eva and i were on the road for the past month.
i love etymology. getting a mindful of it now that i am studying medical terminology.
my favorite etymological questions have to do with expressions tho'. Does anyone have an idea of where the expression "Kiss my ass" came from. I mean, who ever thought of ordering someone who pissed you off to kiss your behind?
Can't wait to hear more from you Mark. You may still be en route to SA as we speak. And Amanda! Good luck on the dating scene! Eat your heart out, Hotlanta *that is where you live, n'est-ce pas?* But I am confused about the identity of this woman ML...
Posted by: kjersten at July 28, 2004 02:12 AM
Kjersten,
Not sure of "kiss my ass." A dictionary of slang might have more info.
Yes, I live in Atlanta, just got back from a very nice date, in fact.
ML is a friend of mine, Mark's never met her, etc. She's a good woman.
I have taken over Mark's website. He's not really in South Africa. He's tied up on my porch. He will be MIA/POA (Prisoner of Amanda) until further notice.
Mwhaa ha ha ha haaaaa! [Evil laughter]
Posted by: Amanda at July 28, 2004 05:07 AM
So, could you actually say that I am "feisty?"
"feisty - 1896, Amer.Eng. from feist "small dog," from fice, fist Amer.Eng. 1805 "small dog," short for fysting curre "stinking cur," attested from 1529, from M.E. fysten, fisten "break wind" (1440), related to O.E. fisting "stink." The 1811 slang dictionary defines fice as "a small windy escape backwards, more obvious to the nose than ears; frequently by old ladies charged on their lap-dogs." Cf. also Dan. fise "to blow, to fart," and obs. Eng. askefise, lit. "fire-blower, ash-blower," from an unrecorded O.N. source, used in M.E. for a kind of bellows, but orig. "a term of reproach among northern nations for an unwarlike fellow who stayed at home in the chimney corner" [O.E.D.]"
Posted by: mariposa at August 10, 2004 01:49 PM
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