That was not what I meant (M)

Minion certainly has gone through some changes in meaning.

Machine may refer to a mechanical device today, but before the seventeenth century was used in the sense of 'structure, fabric'.

Main was once used to mean 'of greatest size' rather than 'chief, leading' as it does today.

Manipulation is used to mean 'to control to one's own advantage', which is a much more general sense than the original eighteenth century meaning of handling chemical apparatus.

Manufacture today is accepted as a mechanical process, when the original sixteenth century use was 'made by hand'.

Martyr is, as we all know, one who dies for a cause, particularly a religious cause. But originally it was a person who chose to die, be it at their own hands or that of another.

Medley is a 'mix' today, but in the fourteenth century this word, releated to melee, meant 'combat, conflict'.

Menial is, today, a very negative word meaning 'lowly' or even 'degrading'. But when first seen in English in the fourteenth century it simply meant 'domestic'.

Mere as in 'in its simplest form', began in the fifteenth century as 'done alone'.

Merry began in Old English as myrge and was used to mean 'pleasant, agreeable' and is most famously used in antiquity as in Merry England, where the early use is much easier to understand.

Meticulous or 'very careful', is derived from a Latin root meaning 'fear' and came into use in English in the sense of 'timid'.

Mildew began in English as a word with the same meaning as 'honeydew', a substance excreted by aphids (or a quite delicious organic ale brewed by Fullers and most certainly my favourite tipple).

Minion, forget the little yellow things, the real definition is 'a servant, a petty official', but when it came to English from the French mignon, a word still meaning 'darling', it was used in the sense of 'lover' and particularly 'lady love'.

Minister has a similar complete reversal to 'minion', albeit the opposite bad to good. Today the church official, in the thirteenth century 'a servant'.

Misericord is that part of the seat in the choirstall on which the occupant may stand, but in the fourteenth century meant 'pitiful heart', by the eighteenth century spoke of 'mercy on us', and later eighteenth century 'mercy seat'.

Mistake today is any error, originally it was used in the very literal sense of 'to take wrongly'.

Mode means 'fashion, manner' today, but in the fourteenth century referred specifically to music in the 'tune or 'melody'.

Moist or 'damp' today, but in the fourteenth century could be used to mean 'new' or 'liquid' depending upon context.

Mortuary is where the deceased are stored, but in the fourteenth century it referred to the gift claimed by the clergyman from the estate of the dead person.

Muddle may mean 'confuse' today, but the fourteenth century use as 'wallow in mud' is still easily seen.

Must in Old English meant 'was able to' or 'permitted to', rather than the 'compulsory' sense today.

Iraq 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 Iraqi cities.

Baghdad a name which is certainly pre-Islamic and its origin is uncertain but no shortage of suggestions such as 'bestowed by God', from Old Persian bagh dad.

Basra, historically given as Basrah, which is Arabic for 'the overwatcher' and thought to refer to this as a former military base.

Kirkuk, a name in use since the 7th century, was named after King Seluecus as Karkha d' Bth Slokh 'fort Seleucus'. Earlier it had had several names including a Syriac Beth Garmai 'house of bones', thought to be a reference to the many corpses of slaughtered Achaemenids following a decisive battle.

Sulaymaniyah was named in 1784 by Prince Pasha Baban after his father Sulaiman Pasha.

Al Hillah is thought to be derived from the Arabic for 'beauty'.

Nasiriyah was founded by Nasir al-Saadun Pasha and named after him.

Karbala has many suggested orings, most often from the Arabic word Kar Babel and a reference to where the grave of the martyr Husayn ibn Ali is located.

Fallujah is thought to come from Syriac name of Pallgutha referring to 'canal regulator'' as it stands where the Euphrates divides into a canal.

Erbil is mentioned over four thousand years ago as Urbelum which seems to come from Arbilium meaning 'four gods'.

Baqubah is taken from the Aramaic bet Yaqub or 'Jacob's house'.

Dahuk may come from Taok, the Kurdish for 'grapevine'.

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

Iran 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 Iranian cities and starting with the capital, Tehran.

Tehran's origins are uncertain. The name probably dates back to the earliest days of the city itself, that history goes back at least 7,000 years. Of course that has not stopped speculation. Perhaps it comes from Tiran or Tirgan and meaning 'the abode of Tir', he the Zoroastrian equivalent of the Greek deity Mercury. Another idea is this represents 'a warm place', while an official guide gives Tah 'end or bottom' and Ran 'mountain slope' and it does lie at the foot of the Alborz Mountains.

Mashhad is named after the last resting place of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam. Interred in the village of Khorasan, this was changed to the modern name of Mashhad meaning 'the place of martyrdom'.

Isfahan comes from the Middle Persian Spahan, understood as 'place of the gathering army'.

Shiraz is more than four thousand years old, yet the oldest record of the name is less than half that. It is derived from the son of Shah Tahmuras.

Tabriz has several explanations, most often to come from tap-riz and a reference to the thermal springs here. Others suggest the King Tiridates II of Armenia gained revenge for his brother's death by driving out Ardashire I of the Sassanid Empire in AD246, with ta-vrezh meaning 'the revenge'.

Ahvaz has a rather complex history but is thought to come from an Old Persian and referred to 'the land of the Huzis'.

Urmia is thought to come from Indo-Iranian urmi 'wave' and urmya 'undulating, wavy'. This refers to the location near a lake and surrounded almost entirely by rivers, and thus the inference is 'water town'.

Rasht is thought to be from the verb reshtan meaning 'weaving' and a reference to one of the many early industries here.

Zahedan is a plural form of the Arabic zahed meaning 'pious'.

Yazd is from Yazdegerd I, a Sassanid ruler of Persia, his name meaning 'made by God'.

Ardabil comes from the Avesta Artavila and means 'holy place'.

Bandar Abbas has a long history and always uppermost known as a port and the names reflect that. Indeed, Bandar Abbas literally translates as 'harbour port'. For most of its existence it was known as Gameroon, this from gumruk with in root in 'commerce'.

Arak is a term given to this place since the medieval period and means 'the edge'.

Sanandaj had originally been known as Saneh or 'castle'. Subsequently it became known for the location of the castle and Sanandaj means 'castle at the foot of the mountain'.

Dezful speaks of itself as 'the fortified bridge' from the Persian diz pul.

Khomeyni Shahr was named to honour the Ayatollah Khomeini, but had earlier been known as Sedeh, from seh dedge 'three castles'.

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