Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: H

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.

H is for heel, obviously the part of the foot is by far the most common use. It comes from Old English hela, Proto-Germanic hanhilon, and Proto-Indo-European kenk which not only referred to the bend of the heel but also the bend at the knee.

Heel is also used to refer to a contemptible individual. It is first seen in US underworld slang in 1914, probably because it referred to one of the lowest standing. Similarly, the phrase 'down at heel' refers to well-worn footwear. Also, there is the now lost term of fighten with heles literally to 'fight with heels' and referring to fleeing the confrontation.

Bones

Never one to simply learn names, I have to know the origin, and having someone in the family who finds the skeleton the most fascinating part of everyone, I thought it might be interesting to see where the correct names originate. Whilst most of us would refer to it as the collarbone, I begin with the clavicle which not only comes first alphabetically but also happens to be the only bone I've broken to date which isn't in my hands or feet.

Clavicle - came to English from the French clavicule which not only meant 'collarbone' but also 'small key'. Tracing this back to the Latin clavicula, where the meaning was 'small key, bolt', it is from clavis or 'key' and shows this bone was seen as being that which fastened the shoulder together.

Coccyx - directly from the Greek kokkyx or 'cuckoo' as the Greek physician Galen believed this bone resembled the beak of a cuckoo.

Femur - a word derived from Latin, the etymology of which is completely unknown. Clearly this is an ancient term for the longest and strongest bone in the human body, for it is known as the femur in English, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

Fibula - another taken directly from Latin, where fibula meant 'clasp, brooch, bolt, peg, pin' and taken from the root figere 'to drive in, insert, fasten' which is itself related to the modern 'fix'. The bone is seen as such because it resembles what we would today call a safety pin.

Humerus - this bone of the upper arm is again taken directly from the Latin, itself derived from umerus 'shoulder' and from the Proto-Indo-European root omeso which also meant 'shoulder'.

Mandible - again from Latin where mandibula meant 'jaw' and related to mandere 'chew' and derived from the Proto-Indo-European root mendh 'chew'.

Maxilla - another directly from the Latin where maxilla also meant 'upper jaw'. It is derived from mala meaning 'jaw, cheekbone'.

Metacarpus - is also Latin but here Modern Latin derived from the Greek metakarpion. Here meta 'between' or 'next after' and derived from Proto-Indo-European me 'in the middle', together with Greek karpos 'wrist'.

Metatarsus - as above the meta element can be traced to Proto-Indo-European me 'in the middle'. Here with Greek tarsos 'ankle, sole of the foot, rim of the eyelid' and originally used to refer to 'a flat surface for drying'. Ultimately this is from Proto-Indo-European ters 'to dry'.

Patella - another Latin word with the same meaning of 'kneecap' but was also used to mean 'pan' as was the root patina. Ultimately both come from Proto-Indo-European pet-ano 'to spread', itself referring to the flattened or dished shape of the pan or kneecap.

Pelvis - easy to see by looking at the bones of the pelvic girdle as to why it comes from the Latin pelvis 'basin'. Ultimately this is from Proto-Indo-European pel 'container', which has also given us Greek pelex 'helmet', Sanskrit palavi 'vessel', Greek pelike 'goblet, bowl', and the word full common to both Old Scandinavian and Old English and meaning 'cup'.

Radius - has the same origin as the spoke of a wheel or that part of a circle, however just what that origin may be is unknown.

Rib - a Germanic word which can be traced to Proto-Indo-European rebh meaning 'to roof, cover'. Hence if the curved bone is seen as a rafter supporting a roof, clearly the bone's shape has been likened to that and not vice versa as a certain book may suggest.

Scapula - the Latin scapula means 'shoulder'. It was also used to mean 'spades, shovels' and this suggests the bone being used as such, albeit these of animals. Such a scraping motion when using these tools can be seen in the Proto-Indo-European root skep 'to scrape'.

Sternum - comes from the Greek sternon 'chest, breast' as well as 'breastbone'. It is related to the Greek stornyai 'to spread out' which is also seen in the original Proto-Indo-European stere 'to spread'.

Tibia - the Latin tibia means not only the 'shinbone' but also used to mean 'pipe, flute'. The instrument would have been made from said bone, and the etymological trail stops here.

Ulna - Latin again where ulna meant 'elbow' and was also a measure of lenth. This cominge from Proto-Indo-European el-ina which also meant 'elbow, forearm'.

Vertebra - in Latin meant 'joint or articulation of the body' as much as it did 'backbone'. This comes from the Latin vertere 'to turn' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer also 'to turn' and thus seeing the backbone as a virtual hinge for the body.

Estonia 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 Estonia and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Tallinn is a comparatively modern name. While it is generally accepted this is of Estonian origins, the meaning is somewhat uncertain with the most popular explanation being 'the castle of the Danes' from Taani-linna. Alternatively this could prove to be tali-linna 'winter castle' or talu-linna 'farmstead at the castle'. Prior to the arrival of the Danes in 1219, this had been known as Revala, the name of the surrounding area and a variation on the Icelandic Raphael. Up to the 13th century the place had been called Lindanisa, this from the mythical Linda, wife of Kalev and mother of Kalevipoeg. She is said to have carried rocks to cover the last resting place of her husband which is today known as Toompea Hill. Earlier still the place was known as Quri and also from the name of Kalev.

Tartu comes from Taara, a god in Estonian mythology often depicted as an aurochs.

Narva is a city and an ancient culture named after the River Narva, itself unclear but possibly from the Vepsian word narva meaning either 'waterfall' or 'stream'.

Kuressa had historically been known as Arensburg, where Middle High German aar 'eagle, raptor' precedes burh or 'fortification'. The present name began as the town surrounding said fortification. Kuressaarelinn referring to the linn or 'town' at Kuressaare, itself the ancient name of Saaremaa island - this leaving no doubts as to its meaning when defined as 'the island land island'.. For a short time in the latter half of the 20th century the place became known as Kingissepp after the Bolshevik Viktor Kingissell.

Haapsalu is simply an Estonian description of the place when first settled - haab salu meaning 'grove of aspen trees'.

Paide is known in German as Wittenstein meaning 'white stone', this also seen in the Latin translation of Albus Lapis. The modern name is first seen in 1564 when Paida came from paas meaning 'limestone'. These all refer to the limestone used to construct Paide Castle.

Kivioli takes its name from its principal industry, the mining of oil shale - the name translates to 'stone oil'.

Polva is undoubtedly derived from the Estonian word polv meaning 'knee', although just how this relates to the place is unknown.

Elva takes its name from the Elva River, itself with the literal meaning 'river'.

Sindi derives its name from Clauss Zindt, mayor of Parnu in 1565 who founded a manor here.

Narva-Joesuu has a name meaning 'mouth of the Narva', the river name meaning 'waterfall' or 'stream' as discussed above.

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