Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: E

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.

E is for even, used to mean 'equal' and also as a comparison such as in the phrase 'even when'. The etymological trail for the former begins with Old English efen, similar forms seen across the range of Germanic languages suggest earlier forms will have seen little change but unfortunately no trace of such has ever been found. The second sense, to liken, compare, is unrecorded before the 13th century and thus will have come from the adjective.

There was once a third use, from Old English aefen 'at the end of the day'. This is not related to the other words but is akin to 'eve' and 'evening'. It also reminds us that while today the day ends at midnight, once the day ended when the sun went down - which makes far more sense. Expressions featuring 'even' include: even break first appears in print in 1907; even-steven, first seen in 1866; to get even with is from 1833; and even-tempered from 1712. There are also a couple of expressions which have fallen out of use: even-old 'of the same age'; and even-sucker meaning 'foster-brother'.

Samoa 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 Samoan cities.

Upolu is named after the first woman on the island, according to Polynesian mythology.

Pe'ape'a Cave is named for the swallows which inhabit it.

Vailima means, according to an old Samoan legend, 'water in the hand'. It seems a woman gave some water, or vai, in her hand, or lima to a friend who was very thirsty. Yes, that's what I wondered and I don't know, perhaps the friend had her hands full.

Falefa means 'four houses', although refers to the four sub-divisions of the large village - Sagogu, Gagaemalae, Saleapaga, and Sagapolu.

Malua is a shortened version of the Samoan maluapapa meaning 'shelter under the rock'.

Safotu is named after the mythological child of Lafai.

Saleaula is another named from a mythological founder, Sa Le'ula 'the family of Le'aula'.

Safotulafai is, like the previous example, named after a mythological figure. Indeed, he is the brother of the above, named Letufuga.

Vaitogi is often held to refer to the low rainfall here and said to translate as 'water thrown'.

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

Lesotho 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 Lesotho cities.

Maseru is the capital of Leotho with a population of some 330,000. It is not only the name of the city but of the district, this a Sesotho word meaning 'red sandstone'.

Teyateyaneng gets its name from two rivers: the Tebe-tebe and the Teja-tejana, tributaries of the Mohokare River. Both tributaries are named for their deep sandy bottoms and refer to this area as 'the place of quick sands'.

Mafeteg is held to be named after an early visitor, one Emile Roland. Emile was also known as Lefeta, 'the traveller' or perhaps 'passer-by', and thus the place name refers to itself as 'the place of the passers-by'.

Mohale's Hoek is an area named after the younger brother of Moshoeshoe, an 18th century chieftain.

Butha-Buthe is also the name of this city's district, both taking their name from a feature of the local area marking it out as 'the place of deposits'.

Mokhotlong takes its name from the Lesotho language and means 'place of the bald ibis'.

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