Hello, all! The new year concluded my month-long etymology contest (see here), and I'm very pleased to announce the winners! It's been a privilege reading through the 23 submissions, and a real challenge picking my favorites. Here's the countdown:
HONORABLE MENTIONS- u/BanAllPineapples, u/AndyMandalore, u/here_for_the_dog, u/Crazyman_54, u/sienadog, u/Occodit, u/Pumpdawg88, u/mcsabas, u/Michael3038, u/NekoGlitch, u/paperclip00007, and u/feinoqw. Your prize is a sense of pride and accomplishment!
THIRD PLACE (SILVER)- u/IosueYu for 中國 in Chinese. I knew of the Middle Kingdom philosophy but not the etymological connection, and I really appreciated the depth of your explanation.
SECOND PLACE (GOLD)- u/SemiEmpathetic for the word "enthusiasm". I had never considered the root before, and was delighted to discover the "possessed by a god" meaning. Excellent presentation as well!
FIRST PLACE (PLATINUM)- u/thergmguy for the phrase "curry favor". The words' developments are fantastic instances of folk etymology, and it blew my mind that neither part of that phrase was what I thought it was. Thanks for that pleasant surprise; the platinum is well earned!
Interestingly enough, u/adjphunk would've placed second for the etymology of "laconic" if they hadn't deleted their account, so shoutout to them anyway. I'll probably be writing blog posts on etymologynerd.com about most of these awesome word origins, and I want to thank each and every one of the contestants for bringing them to my attention. Congratulations to the winners; enjoy your fake internet coins. Stay tuned for future contests!
x3
I'm available for weddings and I'll wear an eye patch and pretend to be someone from your past. You get to shout "I thought I killed you!" we tussle and you throw me off a balcony.
Is this a thing? I would actually pay for this
If anybody prefers these, I made three other alternatives for r/apstudents last year
that's actually fucking hilarious thank you for this
And to think I thought I was clever by quoting Douglas Adams.... OP is a legend
Big F for you my friend. It’s funny tho, maybe you’ll light up the mood of the AO’s
It definitely stands out. Depending on the AO, there's a good chance they might see the humor in it
Broooo I've seen you in A2C and absolutely love your website -- nice to see a fellow linguist on r/StarWars of all places!!
Hi! Thanks for checking it out!
Did you know the "dextrous" part meant "right-handed", so "ambidextrous" means "having two right hands"?
Granted. All sporting events are banned across the world after strong protests from human right activists.
You really know how to hit OP where it hurts
2
"Telephone" in Ancient Greek means "sound from afar"
How about some quality comments while you wait?
Press one for a classic /u/ShittyMorph bamboozle.
Press two for an explanation of the word "telephone" by /u/EtymologyNerd
Press three for a random Queen fact from /u/Marmite_Badger!
why is nobody pressing two
"Telephone" in Ancient Greek means "sound from afar"
:(
HODOR
u/iRed_Marketer, your post has been randomly chosen to be downvoted! We can upvote you in the comments for balance and you can resubmit in a few days, but please do not delete this post.
Reminder to everyone to vote in the pinned thread on whether we should have this system.
Or, if you need to know one immediately, you can just wing it
Of course this is u/TooShiftyForYou
Comment karma god
hey there etymologynerd
hi michael
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ROCKET?
Also pictured: Drax. His movement's so slow that it's imperceptible.
The word "racoon" comes from an Algonquian word meaning "one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands". Looking at this little guy, I can totally see it.
This word referred to debt slaves and is essentially a synonym of servus
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This hits so close to home for me because I'm turning 18 tomorrow and was just wondering how the heck my childhood passed me by so quickly
Ben say it again!
looks at camera
I do, in fact, like this, and I shall likely enjoy your YouTube channel 🙂 good work!
It's more than good. It's fantastic! I couldn't tear myself away
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