#etymology i guess

[imdoingitareyou]

dont think any of you know this but im actually a huge nerd for got, so heres a whole ass rant about the lannister family names and some headcanons to go with it<3

first of all, i dont think its a coincidence that jaime is called jaime. he was called jaime because it was (somewhat) alike to the name of his mother (joanna), just as he was. due to only one thing was it easy to distinguish him from his twin; his smile. his smile that would take over his every feature and the carefree laugh which would trickle down the halls and remind his father to smile every once in a while. he was fundamentally kind. he was nothing that tywin had expected (or even hoped) for him to be like. but he was his son, and the grumpy old man even began to appreciate the name after the loss of his wife.

now cersei. its not alike to tywin or joanna at all. and neither is she, despite her best attempts. shes different in every sense of the word, and while there may be a glimpse of tywins greed or joannas endless love for her children in her, she isnt either of them. later in life, she started to think that was less of a bad thing than she had initially thought it to be. she enjoyed being her own person. and with her natural predisposition to duplicity and dishonesty, it was only right that they give her a name that represents that in ways both good and bad. hence cersei, almost like “serpent”.

now for everyones favourite bookworm, the little monster himself. tyrion. joanna wasnt around (obviously) when his name was chosen. it was entirely tywin. and though he may have said that it was to continue the tradition of having one son whose name began with “ty-”, it was because by the time he was finally given a name (other than “monster” or “abomination”) tywin was seeing himself in his son, more so than he liked, but so much so that he couldnt deny the fact. he was intelligent even before he could walk. he had learned to read expressions whilst people gaped at him, and he used his newfound knowledge to his advantage, to manipulate or mock, whichever he decided on at the time. deep down, tywin had been proud when he first noticed it. however, it isnt hard to spot that, despite the common prefix, tyrion doesnt have the same “tie” inflection as that of his father or grandfather. they dont sound the same, because they dont look the same. tywin doesnt want him to forget that. he knows his son is smart, he knows hell catch on. he wants him to. he wants him to be aware of the disappointment that he is and brings to his father. so he isnt granted the “tie” sound or a name that really reflects who he is, that would perhaps be more like jaimes if joanna had lived.

[westanovencleaner]

well at least the irony of annabeth consistently causing problems for percy's memory while being the only thing he remembered in son is great

[experiencingpenguinshockey]

struggling through latin (livy’s preface…if anyone is a classics person…) and while i was flipping through the dictionary in the back of my book i saw, delightfully, that there is a noun, faber, faberis, m., that means workman. much to consider…come into this space with me. ponder.

[tanadrin]

whatever about the quack nonsense that doesn't work and the whole occasionally-straight-up-killing-people-by-severing-arteries-in-their-necks, the real reason chiropractors should be banned is that they use "chiropractic" as a noun, when it should obviously be an adjective.

[alexanderpearce]

tag yourself are you (obsolete) (archaic) (dated) (vulgar) (slang) (UK) (humorous) (informal) (derogatory) (Australia)

[coquelicoq]

bitch, noun: this is a misogynistic slur to me and i hate how casually and widely it's used, though i recognize and respect that other women may have a relationship with it that is different from mine.

bitch, interjection: this has become a more or less neutral way of expressing alignment and/or a term of affection in many dialects, but i don't use it myself. too close to the noun.

bitch, verb: clearly derived from the noun and with negative rather than neutral or affectionate connotations. despite this, the verb bitch doesn't really bother me for some reason. however, i still mostly avoid using it because otherwise i feel like a total hypocrite.

bitchin', adjective: absolutely baller word. 10/10. no notes.

[space--cadet-glow]

"Bottoms up" is such a delightful phrase. Add it to the list of my favourite words/phrases like "foot-soldier". Send post.

[timdrake-yumm]

Tim: hey why is the saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” when that’s what led to the fall of Troy? Should the saying be “look a gift horse in the mouth”?

Jason: Uhh good question, why ISN’T it “look a gift horse in the mouth”?

Babs: it actually has nothing to do with Troy. The etymology behind “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” actually refers to how you can tell a horse’s age by it’s teeth, and therefore how valuable it is. So, if you got a horse as a gift and then looked at its teeth to see how old it is, it’d be the same as getting, say, a watch or necklace, and asking how much the person paid for it

Damian: t-t I would much rather have the horse

[player-1]

Me, being hit with a late night brainwave: -I know for sure that the N1 protag has a canon name, I know I saw it from one of the concept/teaser/release trailers, but I can't figure out where! I've already combed through in from the official channel and I can't find it! I know his name is perpetually blank in Extinction cause it's a completely different game (and devs just leaving it up to interpretation), of course he's the nameless hero cause he's never mentioned by name in his own game too (though it's extra funny that the Micromon protag had their name mentioned more than five times), but still! I know I don't want to look for the official Discord channel to get it from the big man himself, but I know it exists, believe me!!

[voidimp]

turning off rbs bc i explained this poorly u can stop voting on it

i forgot to add an option for other so just like. pick whichever one u think is closest (or the results option if u really cant decide)

feel free to elaborate on your opinion if u would like. i am Curious i want to know everyones thoughts

[raspberryjamnnn]

I just reffered to bumping into the corner of something as "clipping into it" which by every intuition is a term from video games but in trying to find its etymology I can't even seem to find the definition anywhere

pre-posting edit: okay the connection seems to be:

cutting off part of something

drawing only part of a sprite

testing where/if two polygons intersect

collision resolution in general

NoClip mode

"It looks like it has noclip on" -> "It's clipping"

objects having incorrect collision

rare/edge case collisions, i.e. bumping into corners

bumping into corners (in real life)

[vronsk-aya]

Today I learnt my new favorite Russian word «достопримечательность» which to my understanding means landmark? Or like something that you have to see when you visit a place and I just love how it rolls off your tongue. Then it let me to a rabbit hole of the etymology of the word, which apparently comes from «достойный» (worthy) and so it kinda explains itself as “something worth seeing” and it’s the best thing I have learnt today.

Oh, I also learnt the word «поставщик» but that’s not as cool.

[harpieisthecarpie]

I adore the comments on the Etymology Nerd's youtube channel because his linguistics-based euphemisms have rendered his audience absolutely ravenous with lust.

To be honest, I don't blame them. His excited rambling and homemade bird language have a very raw appeal.

Also he's very funny! He makes etymology interesting and accessible. You should watch his stuff :)

[coquelicoq]

In talking about Chaucer (p. 74), I said that, in general, puns and verbal connections of sound were unimportant and not to be sought out; and now, you will say, I have been using them to explain cruces in Shakespeare. Alas, you have touched on a sore point; this is one of the less reputable aspects of our national poet. A quibble is to Shakespeare [Johnson could not but confess] what luminous vapours are to the traveller; he follows it at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way and sure to engulf him in the mire. It has some malignant power over his mind.... A quibble was for him the fatal Cleopatra for whom he lost the world, and was content to lose it. Nor can I hold out against the Doctor, beyond saying that life ran very high in those days, and that he does not seem to have lost the world so completely after all. It shows lack of decision and will-power, a feminine pleasure in yielding to the mesmerism of language, in getting one's way, if at all, by deceit and flattery, for a poet to be so fearfully susceptible to puns. Many of us could wish the Bard had been more manly in his literary habits, and I am afraid the Sitwells are just as bad.

William Empson, 7 Types of Ambiguity, ch 2 pp 100-101

i'm sorry this is so fucking funny. that pathetic loser shakespeare who loved puns so much it cost him everything, except of course his status as the most famous, most read, most immortal english-language author of all time. but everything else, he lost and it's all because of how weak he was to resist a pun :/ pouring one out for my sad little girly man who could have had it all if only he was better at writing, the thing he is the most famous guy in the world for.

even empson, who disagrees with johnson that shakespeare "lost the world", is like, too bad our favorite poet is susceptible to the thing that made him famous :/ really tragic that the guy whose wordplay we've been talking about for 300 years likes wordplay :///

also i can't get over writing a book about the types of ambiguity and NOT INCLUDING PUNS?? sorry but puns are ambiguous! that's where their juice comes from! imagine liking ambiguity so much you write a book about it but never mention puns except to dunk on them. imagine being a POET and POETRY CRITIC who looks down on sound-based ambiguity! could not be me!!

[sophieswundergarten]

Alright I know I made a whole impassioned speech about the gorgeous symbolism in Milligan's name and everything last night.

But.

Mr. Stewart. Sir. My good man. Author of one of my favorite series of all time and all around creative genius. As much as I absolutely adore your books.

What was going through your head with your naming system???

Some of them make complete and total sense, and some of them are just odd in the most weirdly intriguing way? I respect the decision on all of them because they fit the characters amazingly (for the most part), but, on occasion??

Therefore, I am going to rank all of the names from the main people in no particular order, according to my own research and slightly goofy reasoning.

S. Q. Pedalian - Exquisite character. But his name is a pun?? And it's an ironic pun, because "sesquipedalian" means to have a lot of syllables or use long words, which S. Q. continually struggles with!!!

7/10 Sad, and a little bit funny, but all in all clever and a really unique name for a sweet boy. Very calm and soft colors and connected to a very curly and gangly word that fits him quite well. I think he would really like using the word that is his namesake, whether he knows it or not.

Constance Contraire - "Constance" is, of course, a name meaning "constant" or "steadfast". "Contraire" is just an actual French word that means "opposite", which is an amazing summarization of her personality.

10/10 Hysterical and one hundred percent accurate, and it is alliterative! Very poetic. The "ire" at the end feels very defiant and Constance-y, not to mention that "Ire" as a word means "anger".

George "Sticky" Washington - "George" means "farmer" or "someone who works the earth", while "Washington" likely means "home of the Wassa people", and can be attributed to a place in England. Now, the very obvious connection is to George Washington the historical figure, who is likely someone Sticky looks up to, and also had a lot of pressure on him, there is something to be said about the metaphorical meanings of "home" and "settling" in conjunction with "farmer" (someone who works hard to grow).

8/10 Not as much fun in the meaning, but still a solid and green/blue cool colored name. It feels like a particularly friendly frog with sticky frog skin.

Kate Wetherall - "Kate" is short for "Katherine", which means "pure" ("Caitlin" is also a form of "Katherine"). I've talked about "Wetherall" being a play on "Weather all", but it is just so spectacular I had to go over it again. There are not a lot of credible sources, and while one mentioned that it might mean "place where wether sheep are kept" (wethers are male castrated sheep), I am much more inclined to think that it is made up, as it makes more sense.

7/10 Still love the way it communicates her independence and how hard she works, and the "pure" part is a nice association to her and Milligan's relationship with water (and the both of them being strong swimmers). Her last name also feels very windmill-y and helter-skelter energetic, like her.

Reynard Muldoon - "Reynard" is from a Germanic name meaning "strong in council", which is beautiful and poetic and just the best name for the one who tends to guide the group and continually falls back on them for reassurance. "Muldoon" is just one of those old Gaelic kind of names that means "descendant of whoever".

9/10 Lovely hidden meaning, and even more so when you consider that the only person to purposefully continue calling him that is Curtain. Really soothing colors, warm browns and more reddy colors, soft like a sweater.

Jackson & Jillson - I don't know their last names, so they get put together. First off, "son" as a name suffix literally means "son of". Some people say "Jack" is a form of "John", meaning "God is gracious", but there are one or two other theories. "Jillson" is a name of dubious realness, as I can't find a lot about it. Some sources (very, very few) say it might mean "Son of Juliana/Gills", but it is highly unclear. "Jill" by itself means "youthful", so the "son" suffix doesn't make much sense there either.

10/10 Even though they don't really make any sense, the "Jack and Jill" theme is evident and they both feel suitably pointy to be executives. Wonderfully silly and yet sharing the facade of trying to be Serious and Official.

Martina Crowe - "Martina" is a name derived from Mars, the Roman god of war, and "Crowe" is to do with the bird, and can be used for someone with black hair. It is also possible that "Crowe" means "hound of destruction", but either way it works with her aggressive and competitive spirit.

10/10 Perfectly fits her, black hair, need to dominate and all. It is a sophisticated sounding name, and comes across as authoritative. It is also prickly, and you can feel the prioritization of winning over social graces.

Milligan - Not really a name, but has the inherent meaning of his promise to take Kate to the "mill again" and is therefore a great name full of the most heartbreaking and incredible symbolism.

∞/10 I can't describe how well this name works in every conceivable way.

Number Two/Pencilla - Despite both of them being hints at her pencil-like appearance, I really like all of the love you can see in "Number Two". Her decision to go by her code name is initially out of her dislike of her legal name, but it is also a reference to her being Mr. Benedict's second in command (and possibly to the fact that she was the second person to join his organization, depending on when Milligan arrived).

10/10 A terrific way to show her commitment to her work, and, in a similar way to Milligan, how her name changes to be what those who love her call her.

Rhonda Kazembe - "Rhonda" can either mean "good spear" or "noisy", depending on who you believe. "Kazembe" is the name of a traditional kingdom in Zambia, from what I could find. This has very little to do with her personality, but it sounds really pretty and is distracting, which I think may have been the point. Similar to her appearance when she was initially introduced to the kids, her name is unusual and draws attention to her (which is why I included "noisy" as a meaning), and it aids in her misdirection.

8/10 Not a lot of symbolic meaning, but I very much love how it sounds, her first name is full of nice round sounds and warm smiles, and her last name reminds me of the fun patterns on her clothes.

Dipika Perumal - "Dipika" means "light", and "Perumal" means "great one". While "Perumal" 's meaning is in reference to a version of the Hindu god Vishnu, in a literal sense it is quite accurate. Miss Perumal is a great light in Reynie's life, and in the lives of the others she meets. She is a guide and a kind but truthful source of advice.

9/10 It sounds like tea being poured into a cup. A lovely name that describes her in an intimately accurate way, as well as her surname being in Tamil.

Nicholas Benedict - "Nicholas" means "victory of the people", and "Benedict" means "the blessed one", both of which are in line with his personality. He is fighting for the people of the world, and while he may not consider himself blessed, he is certainly a blessing and a benevolent figure to others.

9/10 Extremely comforting name, fits him and his intentions amazingly. It has just the right amount of whimsy while still being grounding and secure.

Nathaniel Benedict/Ledroptha Curtain - "Nathaniel" means "gift of God", and with the surname "Benedict", it is easy to see how this applies to him. He definitely believes that he is a blessing, God's gift to the world. "Ledroptha Curtain" is a whole other story. Either it seems to be his real, actual name and some crazy people named him that, or maybe he made it his legal name (the books), or he definitely made it his name, for some weird reason (the show).

5/10 I'm really pleased with whoever made the decision to make his name "Nathaniel" for the show, but I just can't condone the stupid pun that he never uses!! What was he going to use it for?? He basically never interacts with a curtain, especially because his master plan isn't really physical!!

We're including Garrison and Crawlings because I feel like they're sort of each other's counterparts? Seeing as one is show-only and the other is book-only.

Dr. Garrison - "Garrison" can be both a name and a real word, and both mean "fortress" or "stronghold". And while Garrison may be considered a stronghold of secrets, she also hides herself in many strongholds, first on the island and then in the rootcellar.

7/10 Very thematic, but I wish we had learned her first name. I feel like it could have been just a little more creative and well-fitting.

Crawlings - That's just his name. There isn't really a way to find meaning in it, especially as it's only one word. I suppose it conveys a creeping, spooky, unsettling feeling, but he just sounds odd.

?/10 I don't really know what to do with him.

And, lastly, because I felt bad for leaving him out:

Jeffers - It means "Son of Jeffery", which, in turn, means "peace" or "God's pledge". Now, this does not really refer to his personality, because he is never at peace, poor man. It may refer to his goal to keep the peace, sort of?

7/10 Just a good goon name.

[philologique]

the thai spelling system is my friend <3