By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The word ‘girl’, like many everyday words which we might assume have perfectly ordinary and straightforward histories, actually has a surprising etymology. To explore the origins of the word ‘girl’ we need to think about both the word’s etymological meaning and its use over time.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What does the word ‘tantalise’ have to do with the chemical element ‘tantalum’? And what is the connection of both of these to the figure of Tantalus from Greek mythology? The etymology of the word ‘tantalise’ is bound up with a mythical king and a curious story about a punishment he was forced to suffer. So let’s take a look at the story of King Tantalus and how this relates to an everyday word we use to describe the act of teasing someone with something that always remains just out of reach.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What are the origins of the word ‘Babel’, and what does it have to do with two similar-sounding words: ‘Bible’ and ‘babble’?
The word ‘Babel’ – capitalised to show that it has not managed to shake off its origins as a proper name – is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘a confused or disordered medley of sounds, esp. of voices’. But where did the word ‘Babel’ come from?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What does the word ‘antediluvian’ mean, and what are its origins? To discover the answers to these questions, we have to travel back to the Old Testament, and to one of the most famous stories found in the Book of Genesis.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The term ‘scapegoat’ is well-known: it refers to an innocent person who has to carry the blame for something on behalf of other people. As the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word: the ‘scapegoat’ is ‘one of two goats that was chosen by lot to be sent alive into the wilderness, the sins of the people having been symbolically laid upon it, while the other was appointed to be sacrificed.’