Sand Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘stone’ and now look at ‘sand’. Note, historically there has never been a distinction between sand and gravel, both were described as being abrasive for each came from the Proto-Indo-European meaning ‘to rub’.

Sandhill may mean ‘dune’ in the UK – and a Sandhiller was one from Sandhill in Newcastle - but in the US a Sandhiller was one seen as a blackguard, one who used coarse language since 1813.

Sand-trap might be a golfing term since 1906, but psince 1838 referred to a device for removing impurities in a hydraulic system.

Nobody made a sandcastle until 1838, probably because beach holidays were not popular until the coming of the railways around the same time.

Nothing was sandblasted until 1878, at least it was not written as such until then.

Sandbanks have been described as such since at least the 1580s.

Sandflies were first described in 1748.

Sand fleas first appears in print in 1798.

Sandbox has been a place for children to play since 1891; from 1849 it described the device on railway locomotives used to improve grip on a wet rail; and from 1570 had been a box used to sprinkle sand.

Surprisingly, quicksand has been used in the modern sense since at least the late 13th century.

Sandpaper has been described as such since 1788.

Sandstone was first described in the 1660s.

Sandman, that mythological figure who sprinkles sand in your eyes to make you sleep, is first seen in 1861. More often associated with the US, it was more often said to be the dustman until around 1821.

Sanderlings are wading birds, first described as such around 1600.

Sandpipers are smaller wading birds, these described as such for the first time in 1670.

Mali 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 of Mali's cities.

Bamako is held to be the fastest-growing city in Africa and sixth in the entire world. A far cry then from its origins in the Bambara word meaning 'crocodile tail'.

Segou is disputed, some say it comes from Sikouro 'to the foot of a shea butter tree'; others from the supposed founder, one Cheikou; or perhaps named by fisherman, although we have no notion as to why they came up with this name should this be true.

Kayes is named for its location, for karre is a Soninke word telling us this is 'a humid place which floods in the rainy season'.

Mopti comes from the Fulfulde word for 'a gathering', a reference to its importance as a market town.

Bla is an excellent name for the place which began as an outpost for the Bamana Empire. The name comes from Bamana ka bila 'to leave behind' and refers to arms, grain and other supplies left here for later use.

Kolondieba is from the local language and means 'big white well'.

Timbuktu is undoubtedly the most famous place in Mali despite having a population of little more than 50,000 (compared to 1.3 million for the capital, Bamako). There are four equally plausible explanations offered for the name and start with Songhay tin butu or 'wall of Butu', although we have no idea who Butu was. If of Berber origin it would represent tim bouctou 'place covered by small dunes'. If the Tuareg named it they would have spoken of a slave woman of theirs named Tinbuktu who looked after their wares when the Tuareg were away. And finally the Zenaga origin meaning 'hidden' and Timbuktu does lie in a hollow. The reason for the very different explanations is that the place has been recorded with so many diverse spellings over the centuries.

Kita is named after Mount Kita.

Haayre is derived from a word meaning 'rocky place'.

Bandiagara translates as 'large eating bowl' as there is a tradition to dine from a communal bowl.

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