Algebra
Algebra - “The reunion of broken parts” (ar.)
From Arabic al jabr “reunion of broken parts.”
X just wants to be reunited with Y. Can you help them? Math: the great love story.
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On the Fritz
On the Fritz - “the antics of a comic-strip character”
This month on TEC We’ll be exploring the etymology of idioms. First up is “on the fritz.” Take it away World Wide Words: The exact origin is unknown, but the most plausible source is from an 1897 comic strip called The Katzenjammer Kids. In this two youngsters called Hans and Fritz got up to some awful capers, fouling things up and definitely putting the plans of other members of the strip community on the Fritz.
Accent
Accent - “putting song to words” (la.)
From Latin accentus “song added to speech,” from ad- “to” + cantus “a singing.” An accented voice is literally music to the ears. OED
Paradise
Paradise - “a walled-in garden” (ave.)
From an Iranian language called Avestan, a “pairidaēza” was an enclosed garden for royalty. Surely still a modern-day definition match for many, minus the royalty bit.
Fantastic
Fantastic - “only in the imagination”
I remember this time last year getting my 60th follower and thinking how cool it was that sixty people wanted to participate in this project and learn about word origins along with me. Now that TEC has reached the unimaginable figure of 15,000 followers, it seems the perfect word to describe this milestone is “fantastic” which comes from Middle French “fantastique” (existing only in the imagination).
Hydrate
Hydrate - “water yourself”
If there was ever a good example of the bastardization of the English language, it can be found in words relating to H2O still being used in common speech. We have Greek hydr (hydrate), Latin Aqua (aquatic, aquamarine), Germanic waeter (water) and Russian vodka (little water).
Algorithm
Algorithm - “man from Khwarizm”
Named for the Arab mathematician Mohammed ibn-Musa al Khwarizmi, whose surname literally translates to “man from Khwarizmi.” He was the first mathematician to present the systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. "Al-khwarizmi” became “algorismus” in Latin and eventually “algorithm” in late 17th century English by association with Greek “arithmos” (number). We also get “arithmetic” from the same origin.
Mathematics
Mathematics - “eager to learn”
“Because the early Greek thinkers saw numbers as a way to help them explain relationships, they spent much time developing formulas and equations. As a reslt, the Greeks used their adjective mathematikos, meaning “eager to learn” for the new science.” - In a Word by Rosalie Baker
Piss poor
Piss poor - “Have to pee for money”
“They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were ‘Piss Poor’. But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They 'didn’t have a pot to piss in’’’ - This is the folk etymology, records from OED and other sources indicate that piss poor was most likely the origin of “piss” being used as an intensifier around WW2.
Hocus Pocus - “body of Christ”
One of the main tenants of Luther’s Protestant Reformation was the discarding of the belief in transubstantiation (that the communion bread literally becomes the body of Christ). There was a famous magician in protestant King James I’s court who would say “hocus pocus” before his tricks, mocking the words Catholics priests spoke before giving communion - “hoc est corpus meum” (This is my body). This intonation before doing a magic trick carries on today.
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