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'.

Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabian cities.

Abha is probably the same as the Sanskrit abha and means 'splendour, light'.

Tabuk is mentioned in the Quran and dated at 3500BC as being known as Ashab al-Aykah or 'the companions of the wood'.

Ta'if has a name describing its early use, for this former fortified town's name means 'with a wall around'.

Najran was traditionally named after the first man to settle here, one Najran ibn Zaydan ibn Saba ibn Yahjub ibn Yarub ibn Qahtan. The Arabic word najran does have a couple of other meanings, 'thirsty' could well be the origin of a place name, while the idea of this referring to 'the wooden frame on an opening door' sounds rather forced, at best.

Ar Rass comes from the Arabic and means '(place) at the old well'.

Riyadh simply means 'gardens', a reference to the earlier oasis towns which were effectively the origin of the city.

Uyun AlJiwa is another from a water reference, referring to the water ponds which once surrounded the area and translating as 'the valley's ponds'.

Qatif translates to either 'harvest' or 'grain' depending on the context.

Ras Tanura is Arabic for 'cape oven' or 'cape brazier', thought to be a reference to the heat generated by the topography.

Jeddah has two possible origins. Somethimes explained as the Arabic word for 'grandmother', traditionally this is where Eve's tomb is to be found. Alternatively this is named after Jeddah ibn Al-Qudaa'iy, the clan chief.

Dammam has two explanations: either from the Arabic dawwama 'whirlpool' and a warning to shipping that such had to be avoided, or it is onomatopoeic and sounds like the drums sounded to alert the villagers that the fishing fleet were returning.

Medina comes from the Arabic al-Madinah meaning simply 'the city'.

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

Happy New Year?

At the time of writing the year of 2017 has but a few hours left to go. As with 2016 the news has been pretty dire, social media is positively overflowing with doom and gloom, and yet I remain the eternal optimist. Always cheerful I always manage to find the happier side of life.

But at this time of year we have had a real change in the media, be it national or social. Everyone has been happy, wearing jumpers, drinking, eating and singing songs. Christmas specials of all our (supposedly) favourite programmes, and the obligatory gush of puerile festive cinema, including the dreaded Disney.

Hence if the world can be miserable all year round whilst I couldn't give a rodent's posterior, as humanity grins inanely at itself I'll drop into full Victor Meldrew Mode and offer this news item from my home town of Tamworth from 153 years ago today.

It is December 1864 and a normal working day for the coal miners of Tamworth. At the Glascote Colliery a former police officer had been working hard when a piece of coal fell 450 feet and landed on top of him. He died later that day from the resulting injuries.