Synonym Etymologies T

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter T and top. Top was the Old English version almost 1,500 years ago, and few words are as generic as this word from the Germanic family which it always has the same meaning, albeit with slightly different usages. The Proto-Germanic root of toppa has also given us Old Norse toppr 'tuft of hair', Old Frisian top 'tuft', and Old Dutch topp Dutch top, and Old High German zopf all meaning 'end, tuft of hair'. Hence the use is for the upper part or surface and has been since well before recorded history some four thousand or more years ago.

Summit came to English from Old French somete, itself related to Latin summum and that connected to Latin super meaning 'over'.

Peak is a variation on 'pike', itself meaning ;sharp point' and traceable back to Vulgar Latin piccare 'to pick, pierce'.

Pinnacle also came from Old French and Latin, with pinacle and pinnaculum respectively. This is derived from the same root as 'pin', the Germanic family root being penn 'jutting point or peak'.

Crest came to English, where it was first used to refer to the highest part of the helmet, from Old French creste 'the tuft-like plume'. It can be traed back to Proto-Indo-European sker 'to bend'.

Crown another with an Old French corone and Latin corona history, where the original use of the Latin was to mean 'wreath, garland'. All are related to the Greek korone 'kind of crown', and traceable to Proto-Indo-European sker 'to bend'.

Brow had always been the eyebrow, with the occasional use of 'forehead' from 1400, since the Proto-Indo-European bhru.

Head is another ancient word, with similar forms in all Germanic languages, and all traceable to Proto-Indo-European kaput 'head'.

Brink is most often used to mean 'edge' and that was the meaning of the Proto-Indo-European root bhreng.

Apex is a Latin word and comes from another Latin word apere 'to fasten, fix' and coming from Proto-Indo-European ap 'to take, reach'.

Acme is a Greek word derived from the Proto-Indo-European ak 'be sharp, to rise to a point'.

Highest is from 'high' and, along with almost all similar Germanic words, comes from Proto-Indo-European kouko 'hill'.

Lid is another sense, and seen in many Germanic tongues with the same meaning, all coming from Proto-Indo-European klito 'to lean'.

Top is also used to mean other things: the best part is unknown before 1660; the highest place first seen in 1620; the phrase 'over the top' is used in World War I to refer to an attack, and the same phrase seen in the sense of 'beyond reasonable limits' from as recently as 1968. The name of the toy has a very different etymology, and comes from the Old French topet and is derived from a type of seashell. The spinning top as a toy is first seen in 1680s.

Libya 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 Libya cities.

Tripoli is a Greek name meaning 'three cities'. It was founded by the Phoenicians some 2,700 years ago, they named it Oea.

Benghazi was founded around 525BC and named Euesperides, a name referring to the great fertility of this area and to the garden of Hesperides. Two hundred years later the place had become Berenice and not until the Genoese merchants began trading with the tribes of the hinterland do we first see the present name, then recorded as Marsa ibn Ghazi.

Misurata gets its name from the Mirata tribe, a Berber people who inhabited this area for many years.

Zliten takes its name from the Isliten tribe, another Berber people in residence here.

Bayda is the Arabic word for 'white', although originally this was az-Zawiyat al_Bayda 'the white monastery', this the white painted zawiyah on the hill top.

Al Khums translates as 'the quintile', the name not readily understood but possibly refers to some counting quirk used when dealing in olives and olive oil.

Kufra is from the Arabic kafir, an Arabic term for non-Muslims.

Tajura is named after a princess who lost her crown with taj 'crown' and Oura the name of the princess.

Tarhuna takes its name from the Berber tribe who inhabited this region prior to the Roman occupation.

Msallata may come from the Arabic word masalla because there is a core of tall buildings.

Tawergha is from the Berber language and means 'the green island'.

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

Paper

I have nothing against metrication. Although if you're going to do it then stop using all imperials measurements - the mile and the pint in particular srill seem to be the norm. And why not do the same for the clock, that will stop people speaking of distances in hours when everyone knows the only way to express distance in a time sense is using the speed of light in a vacuum as a base.

As an author the one former range of sizes I miss most is those once used for paper. Today we simply use 'A' and a number but examine the list below and discover the wonderful expressions once used and where they originated. Note in most cases this requires examining the origin of the word as used in other senses for these are simply late loan words

Antiquarian - a reference to one who studies or well-versed in antiques, this is ultimately from 'antique' - this can be traced to an original meaning of 'before appearance'.

Atlas - undoubtedly coming to refer to paper sizes as this was used for maps, it comes from the god of Greek mythology and used for the book of maps because an image of the god said to hold the world on his shoulders appeared on the Atlas, sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi a book of maps published by Flemish geographer Gerhardus Mercator in 1585. The Greek name is said to mean, appropriately enough, 'the bearer (of the heavens) and from Proto-Indo-European tele 'to lift, support' and the prefix a 'not, without'.

Emperor - a loan word from the Latin imperiator.and also 'empire'. The prefix is the same as Latin in 'not' with par-a, a Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'bring forward, bring forth' and mainly used in a 'birthing' sense. What is being said here is the empire is 'not born' but has always been, perhaps not practically but in essence.

Crown - used in many senses, all derived from the original Latin sense of 'wreath'.

Demy - only seen in this spelling for paper, it is easier to understand as 'demi', itself the French for 'half but derived from the suffix dis 'the opposite' and a root me 'between'.

Elephant - clearly a reference to size, the name of the animal has an unknown etymology, one not of Indo-European origins and thus, with few written examples, will likely prove impossible to explain.

Folio - is as it very much appears, a Latin word which means 'leaf' and is derived from Proto-Indo-European bhol-yo with the same meaning.

Foolscap - only ever having heard this and never in writing, as a child I always thought tis was 'fullscap'. Delightful if fairly recent etymology, the 'foo's cap' was that worn by a jester and used from around 1700 for the paper as it was originally watermarked with this very image.

Grand eagle - two words to define here, both with Proto-Indo-European origins. 'Grand' comes a word specifically meaning 'adult male relative other than the father' while 'eagle' is simply 'a great bird'.

Imperial - shares its etymology with 'emperor' above.

Octavo - is the Latin word for 'in the eighth' as was a printer's word for sheets folded so as to make eight leaves. Clearly the origin is the same as the Greek word for 'eight' which is ostensibly the same as the Proto-Indo-European okto and simply means 'eight'.

Princess - the female version of 'prince', itself sharing a root with 'prime' in Proto-Indo-European capere 'to take' and ultimately kap 'to grasp'.

Royal Sixto - again two words to define. 'Royal' began as a Proto-Indo-European adjective reg meaning 'move in a straight line'; while is similar to 'octavo' above except this is based on six.

Sheet - shares an origin with the cloth variety, originall meaning 'shroud' in Germanic languages but came from the Proto-Indo-European root skeud 'to chase, throw'.

Sixmo - again similar to 'octavo' above but based on six.

Still in use, at least to some degree, are the names given to the range of paper types. Again these often have to be looked at as words used in other sense as they ostensibly loan words.

Bank - began as the rise of land where Proto-Indo-European meant 'shelf' in the topographical sense.

Bond - etymologically speaking this is a variant of 'band', itself a variant of 'bind' which is exactly what the Proto-Indo-European bhendh meant and is also clearly the origin of 'bend'.

Brief - as a noun predates the verb (17th and 19th centuries respectively). However the adjective is much earlier, seen in English since the 13th century and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mregh-u 'short'.

Cartridge - is a corruption of 'cartouche', a scroll-like ornament or a paper cartridge, then borrowed for 'a full charge for a pistol'. It is the 'paper' sense which is important, for this shaes a root with 'card'and 'chart' in the Greek khartes referring to 'a layer of papyrus' and itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European kars 'to scrape' in showing how paper from papyrus was produced.

Carbon - ultimately from the same root as 'coal, charcoal' and the rest in Proto-Indo-European ker or 'fire'.

Copy - can be traced to Proto-Indo-European op meaning 'to work, produce in abundance'.

Duplicating - is from 'duplicate' seen as a noun and an adjective but began as a verb. The first part is related to 'duo' meaning 'two' while the suffix comes from the same root as 'ply' or 'fold'.

Typing - is clearly derived from 'type' and this can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European tup meaning 'to strike, beat, knock'.

Wall - as in 'wallpaper' and comes from Proto-Indo-European walso meaning 'post' and what one needs to build a wall.

News - one of my least favourite things, but it does come from 'new' which, ironically, is not a new word at all, indeed Proto-Indo-European newo meant the same thing and it has probably changed little for thousands of years.

Wrapping - clearly derived from 'wrap', this first used as a verb and traced to Proto-Indo-European wer meaning 'to turn, bend'.

Greaseproof - clearly a combination of two words where 'grease' began in the Latin group of languages meaning 'thick, solid, fat', and 'proof' from 'prove' and Proto-Indo-European pro-bhwo 'being in front'.

Silver - as mentioned in earlier posts looking at colours, metals and elements and simply means 'white, shining'.