Происхождение слов

[Алексей Конобеев]

How authors from Dickens to Dr Seuss invented the words we use every day

The English language didn't just spring from nowhere. So who introduced such gems as cojones, meme, nerd and butterfingers?

 

Butterfingers

 

Charles Dickens used the term in his 1836 The Pickwick Papers (more properly called The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club): "At every bad attempt at a catch, and every failure to stop the ball, he launched his personal displeasure at the head of the devoted individual in such denunciations as 'Ah, ah!—stupid'—'Now, butter-fingers'—'Muff'— 'Humbug'—and so forth."

 

Doormat

 

As a metaphor applied to a person upon whom other people "wipe their boots". First used in this sense by Dickens in Great Expectations: "She asked me and Joe whether we supposed she was door-mats under our feet, and how we dared to use her so."

 

Factoid

 

A term created by Norman Mailer in 1973 for a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fact, although it is not actually true; or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. Mailer wrote in Marilyn: "Factoids … that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority." Lately, factoid has come to mean a trivial fact. That usage makes it a contranym (also called a Janus word) in that it means both one thing and its opposite, such as cleve (to cling or to split) or sanction (to permit or to punish).

 

Feminist

 

One who advocates social, political and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Created by Alexandre Dumas (fils) in 1873 as féministe, translated as feminist by G Vandenhoff and identified in his translation as a neologism: "The feminists [Vr. féministes] (excuse this neologism) say, with perfectly good intentions, too: All the evil rises from the fact that we will not allow that woman is the equal of man."

 

Gremlin

 

Coined by the Royal Naval Air Service sometime during the first world war, this word was made known by a children's book called The Gremlins: A Royal Air Force Story, written in 1943 by Roald Dahl. According to the story, a gremlin is a small creature that causes mechanical problems in aircraft. After 1943, gremlins were blamed by Allied aircraft personnel for various mechanical and engine problems during the second world war. The name was bestowed on a small car by American Motors, but given its association with mechanical problems, it was replaced by Spirit in 1978

 

International

 

Coined by Jeremy Bentham in the book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation published in 1789. In the very first instance where the term appears, it is aligned with the word "jurisprudence". International jurisprudence is suggested by the author to replace the term law of nations, which he deems to be "a misnomer".

 

Pedestrian

 

No one had an English word for someone who goes about on foot until 1791, when William Wordsworth coined the noun.

 

Scientist

 

The word was coined in 1840 by the Reverend William Whewell in his book The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, which contained a 70-page section on the Language of Science. In it he discusses how the new words of science should be constructed. He then coins the universally accepted term physicist, remarking that the existing term physician cannot be used in that sense. He then moves on to the larger concept. "We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a scientist." The word that scientist replaced was philosopher. An account of this coinage in Word Study, a newsletter published by Merriam-Webster in 1948, noted: "Few deliberately invented words have gained such wide currency, and many people will be surprised to learn that it is just over a century old."

 

Вся статья: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/17/authors-invented-words-used-every-day-cojones-meme-nerd

[Алексей Конобеев]

Many English Last Names Began As Nicknames — Here Are Their Original Meanings

 

 

In "A Dictionary of Surnames," Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges have laid out where early last names come from and what they mean. Through research into genealogy and linguistics, they found the bulk of European surnames were formed in the 13th and 14th centuries as societies became more bureaucratic and began collecting taxes.

 

Early last names fall into a few major categories of origin. Many began as nicknames.

 

If your last name today falls into this category of name, you could theoretically learn something about the personality or appearance of one of the very first people to share your name. For example, a town that had several people named "John" might have started calling one of them "John Beal." "Beal" comes from "bel" — fair or lovely — and could refer to someone handsome.

 

Names didn't have to come from nicknames. Variations of people's occupations, a distinguishing geographical feature near their homes, or a version of their mother's or father's first name could also become their last name.

 

Last names that originated from nicknames are a particularly interesting category, though. Sometimes they were even based on negative traits, but Europeans rarely changed them once they officially went on record. During the period that last names were being adopted, people accepted their new last names as their God-given names.

 

Indeed, you may have a last name that originated from somebody ribbing one of your ancestors or making a comment on their appearance.

 

While names from a number of European languages originated from nicknames, below we have broken out only English last names and their likely corresponding meanings, as determined by Hanks and Hodges.

 

A

Arlott — vagabond, rascal; Ayer — an heir to a title or fortune

 

B

Back — someone with a hunched back or peculiarity; Bairnsfather — father or alleged father of an illegitimate child; Barfoot — someone who went about his business, peasant; Bass — nickname for a short man; Bastard — nickname for an illegitimate child; Bay — nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair; Bayard — reckless; Beake — person with a prominent nose; Beal — handsome (from bel: fair, lovely); Bear — nickname for a person who has a mix of strength and amusement; Beard — wearer of a beard; Beauclerk — "fair clerk"; Beavis— nickname for an affectionate address; Bee — energetic or active person; Belcher — someone with a fair and lovely face; Besson — a twin (from bis, twice); Bevin — nickname for a wine drinker (from beivre to drink; vin wine); Biss — someone with an unhealthy complexion; Black — a swarthy or dark-haired man; Blacklock — someone with dark hair; Blake — another variant of blac that sometimes meant pale, white, fair; Blanchflower — ironic name for a man of feminine appearance; Blessed — a fortunate individual; Blewett — a habitual wearer of blue; Bligh, Bliss — a cheerful person; Blunt — someone with fair hair (from blund), a stupid person (from blont, dull); Boast, Boggis — a boastful man; Body — corpulent; Bold — bold, courageous; Bonney — handsome; Bonser — from bon sire good sir, given to a fine gentleman either ironically or seriously; Bowler — a heavy drinker; Bradman — broad, well built man; Breakspear — a successful warrior or jouster; Breeze — an irritating person; Brisbane — from to break and bone; probably used for someone crippled by a broken bone; Broad — stout; Brown — someone with brown hair; Buck — a man who resembles a goat; Bull — large, aggressive man; Bunker — reliable; Burr — a person who is difficult to shake off (from bur, a seed head that sticks to clothing)

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/last-name-meanings-in-english-2014-6#ixzz36sslhgpy