Black Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘brown’ and now look at ‘black’.

Black coffee is first described as such in 1796.

Black, when referring to something terrible or wicked has been known since the late 14th century.

Black has been the colour of sin since the early 14th century.

Black arts and black magic emerged in the 1580s.

Black drop is a liquid preparation of opium, first seen in 1823.

Black flies have been around since the early 17th century.

Blackbirds have been recorded as such since the 16th century, although it had been a surname for around 150 years. Note the blackbirds in America are not the same as the European variety – the latter misnamed as only the males are black, the females are a drab brown (and slightly more numerous).

Black Prince was the name of Edward III’s eldest son, first named such in 1560.

Black flag, a sign that no mercy will be shown by pirates, has been known since 1590.

Black dog, a phrase meaning ‘melancholy’, is seen since 1826. Joke? Sorry, you’re getting it: a man crossed a watery fruit with a sheepdog, he didn’t know what it was but it looked melon-collie.

Black belt in the judo sense is first recorded in 1913.

Black Friday began in the USA as the day after Thanksgiving (always on a Thursday) when the Christmas shopping season traditionally opens and the best bargains are to be had. In the gold UK, we Brits have also adopted Black Friday and make it last ten days – must be decimalization.

Black eyes are first seen (pun intended) in the early 17th century.

Black-eyed Susan, a generic name for a number of ornamental species, is first recorded in 1881.

Black letter is an early description of heavy Gothic-style typeface.

Black swan – is undoubtedly my favourite here (and not just because it’s a pub name). Until Captain James Cook discovered black swans in Australia around 1770, the very definition of a swan was to be white. But the pub name and the image of the Black Swan had existed well before the black swan was discovered. Indeed, the Roman poet Virgil wrote about the black swan 2,000 years ago – describing it as a rara avis or ‘rare bird’. And that was exactly what was being said when using the black swan in heraldry (or as a pub name), the message is that this is unique.

Black Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'bean' last time and this time it's 'black'.

Black market, the retailer who ignores official procedure, is not seen until 1935 when it was a noun. The adjective followed in 1935, but not until rationing during the Second World War did it achieve any kind of popularity.

Black leg when referring to strike breakers is not seen until 1865, but had been used since at least 1771 to refer to a ‘swindler’, particularly those involved in equestrian events.

Black drop, first seen in 1823, was a liquid preparation of opium used for medicinal purposes.

Black magic is first seen around 1300, this a natural progression as the colour was associated with anything considered sinful or sorrowful.

Black flag is first seen in 1590, a reference to a flag flown by those (such as pirates) who would show no mercy. So nice of them to tell us, don’t you think?

Black dog, first seen in 1826, is used as an adjective to mean ‘melancholy’.

Black belt, in the judo sense, is not seen until 1913. It is also used in the USA to describe the fertility of the soil.

Black and white, not the colours but a reference to something in print, is first seen in the 1650s. Now a printing reference came about before this and, from 1590, the phrase was reversed in ‘white and black’.

In the black, ie not in debt, is not found until 1922. The idea being any positive figure would appear in black and negative values (debt) in red.

Black eye has had three uses over the years, these uses having overlapped. The discolouration of the eye following injury dates from around 1600; a reference to an injury to one’s pride from 1744; and to refer to one with a bad reputation from 1880s.

Black-eyed Susan, any of several species of flower, first recorded in 1881. Note it was also the title of a poem by the early 18th century poet John Gay; and a popular 19th century British stage play.

Black swan is a fairly popular pub name and often depicts the bird native to Australia and New Zealand. Yet despite James Cook not landing in Australia until 1770, prior to which one of the requirements of being classified a swan was to be white, the phrase (and pub names) had existed since at least the early 14th century, more than four centuries before Cook was even born. This is because it had been used as a description of anything extremely rare or non-existent – in Latin rara avis, and is why the image appears on heraldic symbols. Note, ‘white crow’ and ‘blue dahlia’ were also used in the same context and for the same reason – I look forward to a pint in the White Crow.

Lamp black is a pigment (or ink) named as it was original gathered from the soot produced in oil lamps.

Black light is light beyond the visible spectrum, and first coined in 1927.

Black tie may have been worn before its first record of 1848, but is not used as a description for dress code until 1933.

Black hearted, describing one who is inherently cruel or malicious, first appears in 1792.

Black Hills in South Dakota – Doris Day once sang about wanting to be taken back to them – is a place name coming from Lakhota paha –sapa as the heavily forested sides of the hills appear dark from a distance.

Black Shirts is first adopted as the name of the Italian paramilitary unit founded by Mussolini in 1922, albeit this three years after their founding. It is simply a reference to the colour of their uniform.

Blackball is to exclude (usually by voting). First seen in 1770, it refers to exclusion by a secret ballot.

Blacklist, names of those excluded or banned from something, appears as early as 1610, and had been inferred to more than twenty years earlier still in someone being ‘black booked’.

Blackout was first used in 1908 in referring to a darkened stage. The sense ‘loss of memory’ dates from 1934; ‘extinguishing lights in an air raid’ in 1935; and as early as 1888 to refer to blacked out information in a written document because deemed objectionable, sensitive, or secret.

Blackguard’s origins are unclear, but we do know it appears in writing in the 1530s when it was used to mean ‘scoundrel’. Not until 1736 did it have the modern sense of ‘criminal, coarse person’.

Black comedy has certainly been around for centuries, but was not described as such before 1961. Prior to that the term used would be gallows humour, seen since the 19th century, and the change may have been inspired by the French expression comedie noire, first recorded in 1958, although the French ‘black comedy’ referred to a ‘macabre or farcical rendering of a violent or tragic theme’.

Blackmail is first recorded around 1550 – the term from Old English mal and Middle English male meaning ‘lawsuit’ – and originally referred to money (or goods) paid in what would today be seen as a protection racket. The modern sense of ‘blackmail’ is not seen until 1826. It is also worthwhile mentioning the sixteenth century terms ‘silver mail’, rent paid in money rather than in goods, and the indiscretion resulting in a fine for fornication known as ‘buttock mail’.

Black hole first appears in 1968 in a paper on astrophysics. It is often said the original series of Star Trek is the first use of the term ‘black hole’, but this is not the case – in the episode entitled The Arena, first broadcast in January 1967, the term used in ‘black planet’, which is clear, in the context of the story, not the same thing. The term may have been inspired by the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta of 19 June 1756, when the Newab of Bengal retaliated against the British capturing Fort William by imprisoning 146 British Prisoners of War in a punishment cell overnight. That cell was designed to hold just four individuals and only 23 were alive when released.

Black coffee was certainly drunk before 1796, but is not referred to as such before then. Note, the sense of ‘black’ coffee is not thought to have referred to coffee without milk (or cream) but with nothing added at all.

Leg Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'arm' last time and this time it's 'leg'.

Leg in a cricketing sense probably began in the earliest days when cricket was played, thought to be in the 16th century. Although there is also the phrase ‘to take leg bail’ found in 1774, which had no connection with cricket but slang for running away.

Leg referring to furniture is not used before 1670s.

Legs in clothes are not recorded as such before the 1570s.

Nobody had a leg up until 1837.

Last leg, first leg, referred to parts of a journey, became popular during the 1920s. Prior to that it referred to a a run made on a single tack when sailing into the wind and more often said to be a long leg or a short leg.

Shake a leg may mean to rise from one’s bed today, but in 1869 you would be expected to dance.

On one’s last legs is a phrase first seen in the 1590s.

Leg work is first recorded in 1891, and originally applied exclusively to news reporters.

Leg room only came into use in 1846.

Leg warmers are not seen before 1974.

Leg man has one meaning today, but when first recorded in 1923 it described an assistant who was the more mobile of the two.

Bootleg is used to refer to unauthorized recordings in the modern era, but when was first used in the 1630s it referred to the upper part of the boot, and as a reference to illegal alcohol in 1889.

Blacklegs were originally swindlers in the 1770s, and not until 1865 was it used to refer to strike breakers.

Dogleg was chosen to describe the bent shape from 1843, but earlier the term dog legged described a staircase without a well hole and consists of two flights with or without winders.

Nicaragua 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 Nicaraguan cities.

Managua has two equally plausible origins. The local Nahuatl language being one and where mana-ahuac translates as '(place) by the water' or perhaps '(place) surrounded by water'. Alternatively this may represent the Mangue tongue, where managua means 'place of the big man', effectively 'chief'.

Leon was founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de Leon in 1524, courtesy of Franciso Hernandez de Cordoba. The original located some 20 miles east of the present city. Named after the Spanish city which, in turn, is dervived from the city's Latin name coined during the Roman occupation of Castra Legionis or 'the camp of the legion'.

Monimbo comes from the Nahuatl and means 'close to the water', that water is Lake Masaya, itself perhaps meaning 'joyful, happy' or similar.

Matagalpa, like Managua, has two suggested origins. This may come from the local tongue meaning 'leading town' for maika is 'head' and calpul 'town'. Alternatively this is from the Sumo language and translates as 'let's go where the rocks are'. Other explanations are 'here next to the water' and 'among the mountains'.

Chinandega's origins are uncertain, although most often explained as from the Nahuatl chinamitl-tacalt 'the place surrounded by reeds'.

Granada was a thriving community when the Spanish arrived and renamed it Granada in 1524. The Spaniards took the name of the city of Granada in Spain, itself derived from its earlier Arabic name of Garnatah thought to translate as 'hill of the strangers'.

Tipitapa is another with two possible origins. This could either be from a Mexican relpe-petiat-pan, literally 'stone, bedroll, place' and understood as 'place of stone backpacks'; or perhaps this is tpitzin apan 'small place' and understood as meaning 'the place of a small river'.

Juigalpa either means 'land abundant of jicaro' (otherwise known as the calabash tree) or, and I do so hope this can be shown to be the true origin, in 'place of the black snails'.

Boaco is composed of two words, boaj 'enchanters' with the suffix o 'place, town'. It seems this is probably from some long-forgotten piece of folklore, maybe related to the name of the nearby peak of El Cerro de la Vieja 'the old woman's hill'.

Bluefields was named after the Dutch pirate Abraham Blauvelt, he using this bay as a hiding place in the 17th century. The Bluefields River, an oxymoron if ever I heard one, comes from the same source.

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

Macau 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 Macau places.

Ilha Verde is simply 'the green island'.

Toi San translates to 'table hill'.

Hipodromo or 'horse farm' would more likely be seen as 'Hippodrome' in Europe.

Areia Preta tells us it can be found in 'black sand'.

Bairro Fai Chi Kei is, rather intriguingly, from 'chopsticks base'.

Iao Hon translates as 'blessing the Han'.

Taipa comes from the Chinese pronunciation of tiam-a, originally meaning 'cess pit'.

Coloane is from the Portuguese influence of the name Gwo Lou Waan 'passing road ring'.

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

Guinea Biseau 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. Resuming the alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Guinea Biseau's settlements.

Bissau, a city named from the island on which the original settlement began, itself probably from the tribe who lived here, and who were named from their former chief. Alternatively it may be a corruption of Bijago, the name of the ethnic group inhabiting this region.

Cacheu is in the region of the Papel people and is a name of Baunuk origin in meaning 'the place where we rest'.

Farim took its name from the title of the local Mandinka people's ruler. Earlier it had been known as Tubabodaga 'the ville of the whites'.

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

Seas and Oceans

Chose the perfect week for a UK holiday this year - not a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the low thirties. In an attempt to keep a little cooler we took many boat trips around the Devon coastline. Obviously we all know the origins of the English Channel, etymologicially not geologically - 'English' from 'England' or 'the land of the Angles' and 'channel' correctly referring to 'a bed of running water' in the 14th century (interestingly it was the British Channel prior to 1825) - but I wondered about the origins of others seas and oceans. Doubtless those enjoying the waters of more exotic locations, such as the Irish Sea, will wonder how the names Wonder no more.

Adriatic - named from the town of Atria, modern Adria, in Picenum near Venice. At the time it was a seaport but is now more than 10 miles from the coast. This comes from atra from 'black' or 'the black city'.

Aegean - traditionally named for Aegeus of Greek mythology, the father of Theseus who threw himself to his own death when thinking his son had perished. However the more likely explanation is the Greek aiges 'waves', which is not unlike the Latin aqua from Proto-Indo-European akwa 'water'.

Andaman - thought to come from the Andaman Islands, itself said to be from Andoman, a form of Hanuman, the Sanskrit name of the Indian god.

Arabian - from Arab, itself traceable to the Greek Arabos probably meaning 'inhabitant of the desert' and related to the Hebrew arabha 'desert'.

Aral - in the Turkic tongues aral means 'island' or 'archipelago' and can thus be understood as 'sea of islands', of which some 1,100 were once found here. Correctly the Aral Sea had been the fourth largest lakes in the world but irrigation projects have diverted waters and there are now four small lakes of higher salinity.

Azov - another likely named from a settlement on the shore, here Kipchak Turkish azaq meaning 'lowlands'. However another origin theory points to the Cuman prince Azum who was killed defending a local town in 1067.

Baltic - until the 11th century this was the Mare Suebicum, Latin for 'the sea of the Suebi', the local people who may, depending upon which source is accepted, have named themselves as 'one's own' or were named by the Celts as 'vagabonds'. The modern name is unknown until the German chronicler Adam of Bremen and, while the origin is disputed, may come from the Germanic belt or 'strait' as this is still used for two Danish straits known as the Belts.

Beaufort - an Arctic sea named after hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort, a naval officer who lived in Ireland but was descended from the French Huguenots and who had the Beaufort wind scale named after him. Despite being self-educated he was associated with contemporary mathematicians of the calibre of John Herschel and Charles Babbage.

Bering - named for the Danish navigator Vitus Bering, the first European to explore the region extensively.

Black - one of four 'coloured seas' in English but one which is difficult to see as in any way darker than others. Thus the modern idea is this related to the Red Sea as the 'north sea' (see below).

Caribbean - named after the Carib people (which is why the American pronunciation is correct). The Kalina people are how they know themselves, the western name comes from the Spanish Caribe, a bad pronunciation of the Arawakan kalingo 'brave ones' or kalino 'strong men'.

Caspian - named for the people who lives on the shores of the Caspian Sea, themselves originally from the Caucasus, who were named Caspii or 'whites' by the Romans.

Coral - abounds with coral as evidenced by the Great Barrier Reef. The word 'coral' is of semitic origin, related to Hebrew goral 'small stone' and Arabic garal 'small pebble' and originally only applied to the red coral found in the Mediterranean.

Dead - the Dead Sea is named because of its salt content (the Bible refers to it as the Salt Sea). Now people will jump up and down and claim all the sea is salty, yet the Dead Sea's salinity at 34.2% is great deal higher than the 3% to 4% of the vast oceans of the world. It is known as the Dead Sea although it does support a very small population of bacteria and microbial fungi and is correctly a lake.

Galilee - is named for the province of Palestine and derived from the Hebrew root galil used here to mean 'district' but usually meaning 'circle'.

Irish - named after the Irish inhabitants of Ireland, itself derived from the Old Irish Eriu and Proto-Celtic Iveriu and understood as 'fat' as in 'prosperous'.

Ionian - of unknown origins but ancient Greek writers attributed it to the myth of Io, who was said to have swum the sea. The name is probably pre-Greek and could be related to Sanskrit yoni 'womb' and reference to a goddess.

Java - named after the most populous island on the planet, itself of disputed origins. This could be from the jawa-wut, a plant also known as foxtail millet grown in India since before records began, and certainly grown in China some 8,000 years ago. Other suggestions point to jau 'distant, beyond' or Sanskrit yava 'barley', or even a Proto-Indonesian word Iawa meaning 'home'.

Labrador - named after the Portuguese explorer Joao Fernandes Lavrador. His family name is 'Fernandes', the last element shows he was a landowner for lavrador means 'farmer, plougher'.

Ligurian - named after the ancient Ligures people who inhabited the area known as Iberia. Little is known of these Celtic people, which may be due to the suggestion their name is Pre-Celtic and only the suffix asco 'village' has survived.

Marmara - the sea, once again, took its name from the island of Marmara. The place is a rich source of marble, which is why the Greek marmaron meaning 'marble'.

Mediterranean - the name is of Latin derivation, where mediterraneus means 'inland' or 'middle of the land', which is a good description of the sea which, one day, will be very much an inland sea.

North - this came to English from Dutch Noordzee as opposed to the Zuiderzee or 'South Sea'. It has also been known as the German Sea, German Ocean, Frisian Sea, Mare Frisicum, and in different languages today as the Nordsoen, Noordzee, Mer du Nord, Noardsee, Nordsee, Noordsee, Weestsiie, Nordsjoen, NNordsjon, An Cuan a Tuath, Noordzee and others.

Norwegian - clearly derived from the country of Norway, itself named for 'the northern way' which is how the English viewed it.

Okhotsk - named after the region giving its name to the town of Okhotsk, the first Russian settlement in the Far East with a name derived from the river Okhota, itself a Tungus word meaning 'river'. Hence a river name gave a district name, which gave a settlement its name, and then to the sea - of of which mean 'river'.

Red - some think this is named from the algal growth or corals, however this does not seem true of the majority of the sea for most of the year. Hence the modern idea is this refers to the 'southern sea' in relation to the Black Sea being the northern version.

Ross - along with Ross Island and the Ross Ice Shelf, the Ross Sea was named after British explorer James Clark Ross who came here in 1841 and whose name is a Gaelic word meaning 'headland'.

Sargasso - named after the Sargassum seaweed which grows in these calm waters. The seaweed was named by Portuguese sailors after a species of rock rose found in water wells in their homeland, Helianthemum. Sargassum is used in Chinese medicine as the answer to "heat phlegm" (neither do I), and of greater interest is the Sargasso Sea, which is unique in having no land borders.

South China - oddly enough it washes the southern shores of China.

Timor - comes from the island of Timor, itself derived from the Malay word timur meaning 'east'.

Tyrrhenian - named after the Tyrrhenian people but a name which is difficult to define. This is due to every early reference we know coming from the Greeks but it is not from a Greek word. It has been connected to an early loan word tursis or 'tower' but this lacks support as we have no idea how this was used. What does seem likely, however, is this shares an origin with the Tusci, the Latin exonym for the Etruscans.

Yellow - named from the sand storms across the Gobi Desert which sprinkles sand particles on the surface waters to make the sea appear yellow.

There are also a number of minor seas around the Antarctic continent, of which we have only examined the Ross Sea. Some interesting names and thus, working clockwise from the Ross Sea, we find .....

Amundsen Sea - named by Norwegian Nils Larsen in 1929 after his compatriot Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, doing so on December 14th 1911. His surname means 'the son of the respectful protector'.

Bellinghausen Sea - named after explorer Admiral Thaddeus Bellinghausen who explored the area in 1821.

Weddell Sea - named after Scotland's James Weddell, he explored this area from 1823 but was not named such until 1900.

Scotia Sea - this was not named from Scotland directly, but after the vessel Scotia of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1902-04 under William Bruce, although the sea was not officially named in 1932.

Lazarev Sea - a name coined in 1962 to honour Russian admiral Mikhail Lazarev but, despite this appearing on Soviet and Russian maps, it failed to gain international approval in 2002.

Riiser-Larsen Sea - another name din 1962, this time to honour Nowegian explorer and aviator Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, who is regarded as the founder of the Norwegian Air Force. Again it appears only on Soviet and Russian maps, failing to be recognised internationally in 2002.

Cosmonauts Sea - yet again named in 1962 and only appearing on Soviet and Russian maps and also rejected at the 2002 international conference. The name was chosen to mark the first manned craft to journey into space and is an interesting word. It is formed of two Greek elements, 'cosmos' and 'nautes'. Here the suffix is 'sailor' derived from a Proto-Indo-European nau 'boat', while the prefix is Greek kosmos 'order'. Interesting to see one of the most recent words is based on a language of one of the earliest civilizations together with what must have been among our earliest Europen words.

Cooperation Sea - another only found on Soviet and Russian maps, named in 1962 and dismissed forty years later, it was meant to mark the idea of international cooperation on this massive continent - which seems to have been overlooked by the international committee of 2002.

Davis Sea - at last one receiving international approval, it was named by Sir Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14 after Captain J. K. Davis, second in command of the expedition and in command of the Aurora.

Mawson Sea - as above except named by the International Hydrographic Organization of 2002 for the commander of the expedition of 1911-14.

D'Urville Sea - named after French explorer and officer Jules Dumont d'Urville.

Somov Sea - for a change not named by the Russians in 1962 but in 2002, the outcome remained the same as it was never approved. It would have honoured Russian oceanologist and polar explorer Mikhail Somov (1908-73) who commanded the first Soviet Antarctic Expedition between 1955 and 1957.

So interested had I been to define the less well known names, I was in danger of omitting the major areas of ocean in the world - or maybe not.

Pacific - named by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan as the Mar Pacifico as he encountered favourable winds on the 'peaceful sea'.

Atlantic - named for the famed island of Atlantis, itself the 'island of Atlas' (the Titan who held up the world and not the book of maps).

Indian - named after India, itself derived from Indus, a river name from Old Persian word Hindu, itself from the Sanskrit word Sindhu which was the Sanskrit name for the Indus River and which means simply 'river' or 'stream'.

Arctic - from the Greek word artikos or 'near the Bear'. Note this is 'Bear' not 'bear' and thus doesn't refer to the mammal but the constellation of either Ursa Major (the Great Bear) or Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) - the latter more likely as it contains Polaris, the Pole Star or the North Star.

English spellings have been used as the piece is written in English

Republic of Congo 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 to cast my net a little wider. This time the Republic of Congo and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital. Confusion with the previous look at the cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo is understandable, the two are separated by the river common to both names, said river also all that divides the two capital cities - albeit a very wide river.

Brazzaville was founded on September 10th 1880 by the explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, who clearly gave his name to the place. There had been a Bateke village named Nkuna here previously but the French Empire wanted this site as a statement to defy the Belgian-occupied Leopoldville across the river., today known as Kinshasa.

Pointe-Noire is also clearly French and means 'black point'. However the name already existed, named by Portuguese navigators who used the headland of black rocks as a maritime marker and knew it as Ponta Negra.

Dolisie was founded to function as a link between the ocean and the railway, indeed initially this had been little more than a station, albeit an important one. It is named after a lieutenant of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, one Albert Dolisie.

Nkayi was the original name of the settlement which became Jacob in 1887, this the French engineer who surveyed the route for the Congo-Ocean Railway. It changed back to its native name in 1975. This may well share an origin with the district of Nkayi in Matebeleland, in which case this could mean 'where are you going'. However a question for a place name would be most unusual, possibly unique, and thus perhaps this is a misinterpretation and should be 'where you are going'.

Pool is a department named after the Pool Malebo, at 14 miles across a very wide stretch of the Congo. It had previously been known as the Stanley Pool after explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.