And finally, why do we say….. ?

Curiosity killed the cat – a warning not to be nosey – appears in an Irish newspaper in 1868, although some sources cite 16th works by William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.

One bad apple – doesn’t take many to ruin something – is certainly in use in the 18th century, but is also found as ‘a rotten apple quickly infects its neighbour’ as early as 1340.

Come rain or shine – to succeed no matter what - is certainly in use in 1905, but there are variations on the theme dating back to the 17th century.

A penny for your thoughts – what are you thinking – is from the 16th century, popularized by John Heywood in 1547 in The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood, but first appearing in 1522 and Sir Thomas More’s Four Last Things.

Add insult to injury – something adding to the punishment, an unnecessarily – derives from the fables of Phaerus in the first century.

Don’t give up your day job – you’re not very good at this – originated in the theatre, where would-be actors tried their hand during evening performances.

Birds of a feather flock together – those with similar likes tend to gather – comes from William Turner’s 1545 satire The Rescuing of Romish Fox.

Comparing apples to oranges – making unfair comparisons – began in 1670 with John Ray’s proverb collection, although the term then was ‘apples and oysters’.

Cold feet – exhibiting a significant change of opinion – appears in English for the first time in 1878 with the translation of the German novel Seedtime and Harvest when a character’s luck at the poker table takes a significant downturn and he leaves the game.

Kill two birds with one stone – get two jobs done with one action – does appear in 1656 in the works of Thomas Hobbes, but almost certainly came from the Greek tale of Daedalus and Icarus.

Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: G

Many words have two meanings, sometimes more, which are often very different. Such words have identical spelling and pronunciation, they are known as homonyms. Here I continue an A to Z list of such words and look at how that word came to have two different meanings.

G is for gander, most often the male goose. It is derived from the Proto-Indo-European ghans which not only meant 'goose' but is derived from its call. There is some thought that perhaps even further back in time many waterbirds were known by this name, as others have similar names, in particular the Lithuanian word for the stork gandras.

During the 19th century, the term 'gander' was also used to refer to an all-male gathering, just as a 'stag' is used today. A third usage, still in use today, is as a verb where 'gander' means a look and particularly a good long look. The earliest record of this use comes from a record of 1886, when the idea of craning one's neck (goose-like) to get a good look. Even then, there was an earlier use, when the word meant to 'wander foolishly'. There is also a place named Gander, it's a famous place for flying enthusiasts as it is in Newfoundland and provided a last stop for trans-Atlantic flights in the early days, hence many of the streets are named after famous aviators. Such was its strategic importance Gander Airport, and thus the town, gave its name to a crater on the Moon. Gander took its name from Gander Bay, itself getting its name from the lake and river of the same name which, it will come as no surprise, got their names from the male geese which were often found there.

That was not what I meant. (J)

The etymology of 'Jargon' has always been one of my favourites.

Jangle, the discordant sound of metal on metal, is first recorded in the thirteenth century as meaning 'to chatter'.

Jargon might today be used to describe talk using specialist knowledge, but in the fourteenth century the word referred to the 'twittering of birds'.

Jaunt was used to mean 'ride a horse back and forth' in the sixteenth century, not simply 'a short pleasure trip' as today.

Jeopardy is to take a risk, but came to English from the Old French jeu parti or 'divided game', but used in English to refer to a chess move in the fourteenth century.

Jet is a stream of matter, usually gaseous but sometimes liquid, but began in sixteenth century English as a synonym for 'project, protrude, stick out'.

Jilt is to reject, and particularly a lover, but first appeared in English in the seventeenth century to mean 'loose woman, harlot'.

Journal, a record of ones thoughts or activities, is a word first seen in the fourteenth century when it referred to a book containing prayers for the different canonical hours of the day.

Junket is a sweet milk dessert consumed most often on feast days, but the word originated in the fourteenth century as a reference to a basket for fish destined for the table, ths later transferred to the contents. In later centuries those contents altered, too.

Qatar Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Qatar cities.

Doha, the capital city, either comes from the Arabic Ad-Dawha or ‘the big tree’, a marker for the original fishing village and possibly used as a marker by the fishermen, or from dohat the Arabic word for ‘bay’ where the fisherman cast their nets.

Al Wakrah comes from the Arabic wakar which translates as 'bird's nest' and probably refers to the colonies of birds in the nearby hills.

Al-Shahaniya is named from the local flora, specifically the plant known here as sheeh, used as it is an anti-inflammatory. Known to science as Artemesia inculta, it can be found across the Middle East and North Africa but is quite rare in Qatar as the soils are largely unsuitable.

Mesaieed is another named from the local flora. Known as sead it is difficult to know what that plant was, and therefore its use, as it no longer grows here.

Madinat Khalifa, both North and South, refer to the Arabic madinal or 'city' with former emir of Qatar from 1972 to 1995, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.

Nuaija comes from the Arabic word naaja meaning 'ewe' or 'female sheep'. This is nothing to do with the mammal but eludes to the water from the well hereabouts being as sweet as sheep's milk.

Umm Ghuwailina is from Arabic umm meaning 'mother' but used here in a geographical sense, together with ghuwailina, referring to a local tree, speaks of 'the mother of ghulan'. The tree is used as fodder for camels.

Al Thumama is another derived from the local flora. Known to science as Panicum turgidum (literally 'swollen foxtail'), it is welcomed in the desert as this perennial grass encourages soil formation.

As Salatah al Jadidah means 'New Salata', named after the Al-Sulaiti tribe and founded as recently as the 1970s.

Al Sadd is also named from a local plant. Sadd is the local name for a plant abundant in this region of the coast.

The Pearl is built on a man-made island begun in 2004 and an on-going project. It is named because it occupies one of Qatar's former pearl diving sites.

Dukhan translates as 'smoky mountain', for clouds are seen to gather around the summit of Jebel Dukhan.

Mebaireek takes its name from an Arabic personal name Mubarak, although just who that seemingly important individual may have been is unknown.

Fereej Abdel Aziz comes from fereej or 'district' of Abdel Aziz, he a former sheikh who governed in this area.

Umm Lekhba shares a first element with Umm Ghuwailina above, also sharing the geographical context. Here the second element is Arabic khabaa 'to hide' and a reference to the location being in a depression.

Duhail comes from dahal, the Arabic word for 'cavern' and a large cavern can be found here.

Umm Bab uses the 'mother' prefix again in a geographical sense, with the second element a reference to a passage between two hills and thus 'mother of the gateway'.

Rawdat Rashed is from the Arabic rawdat and a personal name and refers to its low-lying position where water tends to accumulate after rainfall in 'low wetland of Rashed'.

Hazm Al Markhiya takes the Arabic hazm or 'hill' and adds the tree known locally as markh. This tree, known officially as Leptadenia pyrotechnica. This 'tree' is actually a drought-resistant desert herb used for thatching huts, the plant fibre is useful in making ropes, makes a good fodder for camels, and the ripe pods used as vegetables and are said to possess some medicinal properties.

Al Ghuwariyah comes from ghar or 'cave' and not, as so often stated, a plant known as alghar as that is simply not found in the region.

Al Jemailiya comes from the Arabic jamila 'beauty' and thought to refer to the abundant vegetation in an area otherwise largely desert.

Al Karaana comes from karaa or 'fresh water' and refers to a well providing water of particularly excellent quality.

Al Bidda comes from the Arabic badaa 'to invent'. Not a technological invention but the creation of the settlement in what had been a area devoid of any true features.

Abu Samra takes the name of the Samr tree, used as fodder for camels.

Al Utouriya comes from Arabic atar meaning 'perfume, aroma'. This area lies in a rawdat or depression where the collected rainwater means aromatic herbs grow freely.

Al Nasraniya takes its name from a time when the local well, dug through particularly hard rock, became usable. Their efforts were referred to as Nasraniya or 'Christinaity' and a reminder of the victory by the Muslims over the Christians.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Waterfowl Names Examined

As children waterbirds were probably our first introduction to wildlife. Few of us were not taken down to the local pond or park armed with bread for the ducks, swans and perhaps even geese.

Several times in our history these birds were highly prized, maybe for their meat and/or as the goal for some forgotten sport. Obviously in the earliest days these were hunted solely for their meat and it would have been then that hunters would have differentiated between the various waterfowl in order for them to be quite aware of what they hoped to bring back to the table. It will be noted that some of the species discussed below are not strictly waterfowl but simply birds associated with water. No apologies are made for include these species with which we are all so familiar.

Of course the ducks are probably the most populous of all waterbirds. They derive their name from the characteristic dabbling or diving underwater for food, and it comes from Old English duce meaning 'to duck, dive'. Oddly this was not the original Old English word for the duck, that was ened which is largely unchanged since the earliest known aneti of Proto-Indo-European beginnings.

It has always been debated as to why the Saxons stopped using ened in favour of duce, most likely that the act of 'ducking' was a different word to the noun 'duck' but eventually the former fell out of general use. Duckling is simply 'the small duck' and quite recent, while the mallard is simply an early corruption of 'male duck'.

While geese is simply a mispronunciation of goose, the singular form can be traced virtually unchanged through many ancient European languages. The very earliest form is the Proto-Indo-European ghans which has filtered down to modern English as 'gander', ie the male goose. Both the goose and ghans can only be an imiation of the bird's cry, most often said today to be a 'honk'. Gosling is clearly a 'small goose' and a rather recent development.

All herons share the basic body shape of a wading bird, long legs and a long neck. However they are unique in being the only birds with a long neck which do not fly with the neck extended but drawn right back against the body, a characteristic which makes them easily identifiable in flight. The name can me traced back to Proto-Indo-European griq or 'shriek, cry' and imitative of the cry of these birds. The crane is a similar bird and easily confused with the heron, indeed the name in Old English referred to both creatures and there is every indication they share the same derivation of their respective names. Egret is from Old French aigrette also meaning 'heron'.

Recently making a comeback to Britain, the osprey was named quite late. It comes from the Middle Latin avis prede literally 'bird of prey' and, while this originally referred to any hawk, was mistakenly thought to refer to this species.

Some names speak for themselves. Anyone who has had their food plucked right from their hand by a gull in flight will understand why they were named from the verb 'to swallow'. A dipper dives below the surface of the young streams seeking the larvae on which they feed, they also move with a decided 'dipping' motion either of which could have been the reason for the name. Most kingfishers do exactly what their name suggests, however the bird with which we are so familiar is also known as the halcyon. This refers to the supposed halcyon days of calm at the winter solstice when the mythical bird bred in a nest floating on the calm seas.

The young of the swan is known as a cygnet, derived from Latin cygnus and Greek kyknos both meaning 'swan'. These are from Proto-Indo-European keuk meaning 'to be white', this was from the time when all swans were considered to be white, before the discovery of Australia and its native black swans.

The swan itself has the strangest of origins. The term is Germanic, seen in Old English swan, Old Norse svanr, Middle Dutch swane, and Proto Germanic swanaz - ultimately from Proto-Indo-European swon 'to make sound'. Thus this is literally 'the singing bird' but swans are hardly the greatest singers of the bird world. Hence this is probably mythological, indeed in the Greek stories the swan is sacred to both Apollo and Venus and held to sing only in the last moments before death.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.