Does Anybody Out There Get Curious About Word Origins? Like That's A Bunch Of Tom Foolery

Discussion in 'Evolution of Language' started by Kalvin Mitnic, Jun 25, 2017.

  1. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    The etymology is hard to come by. Here's something I found. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gig#Etymology_1
    It was used by musicians: 'we had three gigs last week.'
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Having known many musicians, I have always heard the word "gig" used in the musical employment sense, where a musician "got a gig." I found a website named "Word Detective" who says that--like many words--the origin is based on hypothesis and not fact, and it does relate to musicians. The word dates back to 1225 in various senses. Here's the conclusion of that site's discussion:

    Regarding "etymology" and "entomology"...there is also "etamology," which is the art of gluttony. They all overlap, since I'll not only eat just about anything, I've eaten insects and--on occasion--my words.
     
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  3. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    Thanks, John. That was way much more than I wanted to know.
    Have some Old French dressing on your salad. I'm buying.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 4, 2021
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  4. Samual Yoder

    Samual Yoder Very Well-Known Member
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    Not really curious, it is too easy to find reference book that gives explainations for phrase orgins, internet archive.org has many books on the subject.
     
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  5. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    It's off-topic but I'm still kinda mad that you can't 'like' your own comments. My egotistical self would just keeping tapping that button.
     
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  6. Samual Yoder

    Samual Yoder Very Well-Known Member
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    I don't understand that??
     
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  7. Bibbi Wright

    Bibbi Wright Very Well-Known Member
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    As a retired languages teacher I’ve always been interested in the origin of words, phrases and place names. I have three dictionaries on the origins of English place names, slang phrases and idioms, bit of course much of that information can now be found online.
     
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  8. Bibbi Wright

    Bibbi Wright Very Well-Known Member
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    Talking about words and sayings there are many English idioms and phrases that those of you in the USA may never have heard of or if you have may not understand the meaning of.

    For example, what on earth does the saying ”It’s like taking coal to Newcastle” mean?

    Welll the area around the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England used to be a major coalmining region and of course as a result it would be pretty pointless taking coal from another region to sell there as they already had more than enough.

    In other words doing something that’s completely pointless.
     
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  9. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    Oh yeah...the word "Tomfoolery" is never seperated into two words. Look it up!

    Hal
     
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  10. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    Woher der Name 'Wright"?
     
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  11. Bibbi Wright

    Bibbi Wright Very Well-Known Member
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    @James Hintze If you've read my posts I'm sure you'll have seen somewhere that my husband is English. Not only that but the name Wright although uncommon is found in Scandinavia as are a number of other British names.
     
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  12. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    It's obviously English, but has a most interesting Germanic origin: https://www.etymonline.com/word/wright
     
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  13. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    Oh, and by the way "Hintze" is an old German given name, derived from 'Heinrich.' German for "Every Tom, Dick, and Harry," is "Jeder Hintz und Kuntz." (My ancestry, both paternal and maternal, is supposedly Danish). There was a German friend, after whom a child was named. His child, supposedly 'Hintzesen' emigrated and dropped the 'sen.'
    Names are interesting. 'Vladimir (Putin)' is derived from the source of the German 'Waldemar.' Obviously the Danes had a version of the name when they occupied Russia way back then.
     
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  14. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    There is no such phrase as "Tom Foolery" It is just the word "Tomfoolery". Look it up!

    Hal
     
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  15. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    That’s pretty prohibitive and maybe unconstitutional in that if Tom wishes to be involved in foolery then so be it as long as the foolery Tom is intending on doing isn’t against the law. In either case Tom and foolery would be two words. (Poor Tom).
     
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