Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: P

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.

P is for palm, which is either a tree or a part of the hand. The body part is not recorded until around 1300, it came to English from Old French paume and Latin palma 'the flat of the hand'. Both are derived from Proto-Indo-European pele 'flat, to spread' and for obvious reasons.

The tree or the word for the tree, correctly known as the date palm, spread to Western Europe along with Christianity. It is thought to describe the leaves of the tree which have a spreading effect like the fingers on the hand.

The sense of 'palm' meaning a bribe is seen as early as 1620, but then the term was 'palm oil'.

Saint Vincent 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 St Vincent's cities.

Edinboro is named after the capital of Scotland, as this was where the first settlers originated.

Kingstown, as with other places of this name, is a reminder of the times when colonists from European nations claimed these lands for their own. Here the man was none other than George III of the House of Hanover.

New Sandy Bay Village is named, well its named for the bay on which it stands which, it will come as no surprise to hear, is sandy.

Charlotte Parish is named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III.

Gun Hill is named as it was where soldiers built an observation station, occupied between 1772 and 1797.

Bequia comes from the ancient Arawak language and means 'island of the clouds'.

Mustique is the French word for 'mosquito', although early the group had been named Los Pajaros or 'the birds' by Spanish sailors, as the island chain were thought to resemble birds in flight.

Petite Mustique, 'little Mustique', is named in comparison to the above.

Palm Island got its name when John Caldwell, known affectionately as 'Johnny Coconut', planted hundreds of the tree Cocos nucifera here and transformed a swamp where nobody desired to live, into the island paradise. Even the grass airstrip was given over to palms and now the only access is by boat. Note the earlier name for this place had been Prune Island.

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

Maldives 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 the Maldives settlements.

When it comes to the place names, many are named after the island or atoll on which they stand. 'Atoll', now used as a term throughout the world to refer to a ring-shaped coral reef that encircles a lagoon, sometimes completely. The word is from the Dhivehi of Maldive word atholhu and has the same meaning. Traditionally Maldivians do not add 'atoll' to the end of the names.

Kulhudhuffushi is named after its most famous feature, the kulhi or 'mangroves'.

Fuvahmulah is from the Dhivehi tongue and means 'island of the Areca nut palm'. The palm nut has a number of uses and is used across Asia.

Gan comes from a Sanskrit word Grama meaning simply 'village'.

Hilhumeedhoo is an amalgamation of Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo.

Male is named after the island and has also given its name to the nation, for dives means 'islands'. Its name is said to come from the time of early settlement where freshly caught tuna were cleaned after being landed. The large amount of offal and blood stained the sandbank and waters and resembled a large pool of blood or maa ley gandeh 'big blood'.

Fasdhuthere Atoll describes itself as 'what lies between five islands' and refers to its location.

Huvadhu Atoll has a name referring to 'the forbidden place'.

A few British names can also be found, Malcolm Atoll, Horsburg Atoll, Ross Atoll, all named around 1835 by Robert Moresby to honour famous commanders of the British Empire.

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